Drawing the Line
by Shelbylou
Summary: An Agent has to make a choice. He decides to make that choice before the decision is made for him. Why is he willing to sacrifice his career so readily? Co-authored with the very talented Smartkid37.
1. Prologue

Hi everyone.

This story has been on the boil on another site for quite a while and we thought we'd add it on here for you all to enjoy. It's not complete, but there is quite a few chapters for you all to be getting on with and it's still on the go.

Smartkid37 and Shelbylou xx

* * *

He had waited for the last member of his team to pack up for the night before picking up the box he had placed strategically underneath his desk. It had been another long Saturday spent putting a case to bed and he was exhausted even more so than usual after the hellish week he'd just been through. He was going to meet the team for drinks in half an hour, but didn't really want them to see him packing his personal belongings into that cardboard box. It was just so...impersonal.

It didn't take him long and he couldn't help but feel saddened at the prospect of not walking into the strangely comforting atmosphere of MCRT anymore. He sighed heavily and collected everything together before turning and walking over to the elevator. Once he was inside, he held the 'hold' button and gazed out into the squad room one last time before the doors began to close ominously on the life he was leaving behind.

As he felt the tears prick at his eyeballs, he also felt the presence of his boss, even before the hand came between the elevator doors to open them back up. He had long ago developed a sixth sense for his boss, the guy was like a silent assassin and he just knew, had a feeling that even before the hand came between the elevator doors to open them back up, Leroy Jethro Gibbs would be there.

Sure enough, as the doors slid back, Gibbs stepped onto the elevator car with his trademark coffee clutched in his hand.. Unhappy at the tongue lashing he felt coming; he steeled himself for it silently and waited. Tim squirmed uncomfortably as Gibbs took a minute to scrutinize him. The boss knew that there was more bothering his soon to be 'former' agent than met the eye and Tim watched tiredly as Gibbs reached over and hit the switch to put his 'conference room' into use..

Uncharacteristically, the boss remained silent, almost as if he were waiting for his agent to automatically open up and let him in. unfortunately, Tim wasn't in a place where he felt comfortable doing that. For some reason he just wasn't able to vent his soul to Gibbs at the moment because he couldn't take the risk of being mocked or discredited or worse, ignored by the people that mattered to him - not over this.

"Talk to me." Gibbs finally pushed, unable to take the silence that radiated from Tim anymore; his quiet concerned tone, heard only on rare occasions before now.

"Boss, I… I'm…..I can't." came the equally quiet and reluctant reply.

And there it was; the truth behind the actions. This young man didn't want to be making this choice; he obviously felt he had no choice. Gibbs had the feeling that the decision had been snatched right out of his agent's hands. This wasn't happening like this, not if Gibbs had anything to say about it.

"Why can't you talk to me about this, Tim?" Making sure his tone remained calm, he roped in his agravation that it would be now of all times for his agent to let his stubborn streak run free. The use of his given name made the younger man flinch uncomfortably

"Because …because there's nothing you can do about this except dismiss it as not real; and I just can't take that chance, Boss." Came the cautious answer seemingly loaded with genuine fear.

"If I give you my word that I will take whatever this is about, seriously, would you be willing to talk to me?" Gibbs asked in compassionate seriousness.

"Boss, I would have talked to you about it Monday, if I had known I could count on that!" the younger man exclaimed in a rare show of all-out frustration.

"I'm listening now, Tim."


	2. Chapter 1

_Six Days Ago  
Monday Morning - Before the birds are up:_

He hears their screams as they are beaten with the baseball bat. First the young adult woman, then the older woman and finally the husband; each methodically swung at with lethal strength and devastatingly accurate aim Through it all, he was forced to watch, tied to the support beam in the center of the room. Forced to watch as the hooded figure wields the weapon of pain to each of the tied and blindfolded victims in turn. Over and over again, going down the line and back again. The sounds of brute force meeting soft flesh and even bones.

"_STOP! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? Tim's screams were desperate as he tried to distract their attacker and make the nightmare stop. He struggled to even remember how it had all started or even how they've gotten here in the first place…. What did he remember last?"_

_Why? Well, that's a pretty stupid question, NCIS SPECIAL AGENT, Timothy McGee! I HATE NCIS AGENTS! And if you can't remember that, maybe their pain will help you remember!" _

_Again screams fill the air as the young lady is once again beaten with the bat At the sound of her bones breaking and both of her parents sobbing for their daughter's pain, Tim lost the ability to breathe and suck in all the air around him in both physical and emotional agony at the devastating scene before him._

"**NO!"**

Tim's breath caught in his chest and he was jerked awake, trembling, sweating and scared witless. What the hell was that dream all about? Was it a premonition? He'd never had anything like this happen to him before and he was more scared than he could ever admit. Actually, if he'd admit it to himself, he was downright shaken to the core of his very existence. Looking at the clock, he was surprised to find that it was only 2:00 am.

He felt bone tired, almost like what sleep he had managed to get, hadn't been restful at all. Feeling too wired and worried to go back to sleep, he hit the shower and stood under the hot, pounding spray in an effort to wash away the dirty feeling the nightmare had left him with. His exhaustion still left him feeling like death warmed over and the feeling of doom had settled in his stomach like a lead weight. But, he needed something to do with the time he had, besides dwelling on something he didn't he'd showered, he worked on deliberately focusing his mind on the mundane tasks that amounted purely up putting on clean clothes. He considered trying to write, but knew from past experience that there was no way he was going to get anything down on paper and the writer's block would do nothing but stress him out more.

He made up his mind and packed his gear bag before heading out. Work was the only thing that would possibly keep him busy enough to distract him from the horrors of his dreams, he hoped it would keep his mind occupied anyway. The fact that it was only 3 AM didn't faze him in the least and he grabbed his car keys from his computer desk.

Once at work and safely engrossed in the necessary tasks that had been back seated when a fresh case had taken precedence, Tim began to finally find the ability to shed his overflowing sense of doom that his nightmare had left him with. Soon enough, work slowly clouded his dark thoughts and he became completely lost in what he was doing.

Gibbs was used to being the first one in; always allowing time for that blessed first coffee and a chance to look through the work needing to be finished. Usually, he would take himself off somewhere where he could watch the individual team members arriving, giving himself the chance to guage how they were doing and to see exactly how the cases were affecting them beyond the outward appearances. He had discovered long ago, that all three of his team members had certain masks they slipped on for each other and especially their boss.

They all had a tendency to play down their emotions which made it difficult for Gibbs to see what stress they were under and, especially, difficult for him to do anything about it. His method was sneaky, but worked and since doing it, he had managed to get every one of them to open up to him at one point in time. This morning was no different. He'd intended to be the first one in again and shock shoot through him all the way down to his toes, when he saw that he wasn't the first one here, even at the ungodly hour of 5 AM..._Why the hell was McGee here at this hour? Just how long had he been here_?

Taking the opportunity to silently watch the younger man, Gibbs stood just out of sight and looked his agent over carefully. Tim obviously hadn't slept well and was bothered by something. The look of exhaustion just didn't look right on the man's youthful face, and aged him way beyond his years. The agitated movements and high stress drive were signs of something not quite right and sent clear signals to the boss, he needed to have a chat with McGee. Looking around at McGee's desk, he saw no signs of coffee or even remnants of packaging that told him the young man had eaten recently, so with a new mission in mind, Gibbs disappeared to the break room to try to fix at least a couple of the problems.

Tim couldn't concentrate anymore. His mind kept wandering back to the nightmare that had woken him three hours earlier leaving him feeling more frustrated and at loose ends than ever. He'd never had dreams like that, even with all the horrific cases they'd worked on. His dreams had **never** been so frightening or on such an intensely personal level and it for that very reason that he couldn't shake the feeling that the dream really was more than his mind trying to make sense of his life, trying to compartmentalize any torrid thoughts he harbored in the waking world.

He knew he was dwelling on his nightmare and started to look it as more of a premonition, a means to an end. It was one he had to find a way to stop no matter what it took; the price was too high for him not to. Maybe he could talk to Ducky to see what spin the M.E. put on his dreams, after all the coroner had always been secure in his knowledge and understanding and gave sound advice, albeit a bit long winded sometimes.

Getting up from his desk wearily, he headed down to Autopsy and was unaware that his boss was watching him go with concern evident in his eyes. Gibbs was on his way back from the break room with a large mug of coffee the way Tim liked it and a small bite to eat, something that would have to do until he could get Ziva or DiNozzo running breakfast duty. As Tim hit the stairs, Gibbs hit the speed dial on his phone, somehow using that uncanny ESP to his advantage.

"Autopsy."

"Duck, McGee might be on his way down to see you. See what you can find out for me will ya?"

"He's in awfully early this morning, Jethro."

"Yeah, Duck. I know. Let me know what you find out? There's something wrong with this and I wanna know what it is."

"Certainly, though there may be a simple enough reason."

"Ducky, when have you known any of my team to be in this early?"

"Hmm, Yes, I see your point, though young Anthony…."

"Does his best work at night, I know Duck, but Tony comes in at midnight, does a couple of hours and goes home. He comes in on time Duck and gets some sleep in between. I don't think McGee's slept at all lookin' at him.""

'll let you know Jethro.""

Thanks, Duck."Ducky ended the call and felt a pang of concern flit through his mind. _Why would Timothy come into work so dreadfully early?_ Hopefully, the young man would open up to him if there was something playing on his mind. No sooner had that thought crossed his mind, than the doors to Autopsy hissed open and a dejected, exhausted looking Timothy McGee walked into the room.

Ducky took a moment to look him over and frowned deeply at the dark circles under his eyes, they stood out like dark bruises against the overly pale skin surrounding them. _'Oh dear, the boy doesn't look well at all' _was the M.E's initial thought.

"Hey, Ducky." Tim's quiet greeting drew another measure of concern up from the emotional well that lived in the pit of Ducky stomach.

"Timothy. You're in awfully early this morning. Is everything all right?"

"Um…Yeah. I couldn't sleep. Ducky, can I ask you something?" Tim asked, he wanted to avoid getting into a conversation about his feelings, he just wanted an answer to the burning thoughts he had.

Ducky didn't miss the hesitation at the beginning or the rush to move the conversation on to something different."Certainly, come. Sit down; ask me whatever it is that is playing on your mind."

"Thanks. I just need to know… well… How do you know whether your dreams are about something that's gonna happen or not?"

"I take it your dream that woke you was veering more to the side of a nightmare, Timothy?" Ducky asked kindly.

"Yeah. But, it felt so real. It felt more like it was a warning or a premonition of some kind." Tim said with more than a hint of worry in his tired voice.

Ducky considered sending his young friend home, there was no way he was going to make it through the day without his apparent lack of sleep catching up with him.

"Well, I'm afraid there is no way to tell if what we dream is in fact the sign of something to come in the future. Have you had this experience before?" the M.E. questioned with a hint of curiosity mixed in with his concern.

He had heard of this before, but hadn't actually met anyone who had experienced premonitions in any way and the conversation intrigued him somehow. He wanted to know more about the dream though, he needed to know what exactly had gotten the young man so rattled but didn't want to delve or push Tim away.

"No." Tim said. "So, you're saying that it's possible that what I dreamt could be a warning that it's' gonna happen?" Tim asked with complete abject fear in his voice.

Ducky saw the signs of the beginning of a panic attack and sat Tim down on one of the stools. Tim soon felt his head being pushed between his knees and tried to focus on Ducky's soothing voice.

"Timothy, my dear boy you must calm yourself. I said there is no way to know for sure if it is or is not, Now breathe young man. Yes that's right in through your nose and out through your mouth. Now Please, explain to me what it is you think may happen. I'll admit to being curious as to what has got you in this state."

Tim sat up and pushed himself up from the stool. He glanced at Ducky briefly before turning to leave, only pausing for a second to look over his shoulder at Ducky."Thanks for your time, Ducky, I appreciate it." Tim said sadly as he headed back out to the elevator.

"Timothy, whatever is the problem?" Ducky asked after his young friend, but as often the case with the MCRT, he was suddenly talking to himself.

*****************


	3. Chapter 2

Ducky finished relaying the conversation he'd just had with Timothy to Gibbs before the agent in question even returned to his desk. For some thankful reason, Tim was taking longer than usual which gave Gibbs the opportunity to speak to his old friend about the situation. It wasn't long after Gibbs hung up the phone, that Tim returned to his desk and noticed the fresh mug of hot coffee and the vending machine danish that someone had placed on his desk.

Gibbs couldn't help the small grin at the appreciative smile that lit the room for the brief moment that it was visible, and watched as Tim dug into his breakfast and relished not only the food that was filling the hole in his stomach but the caffeine boost that was so desperately needed. It was the simple act of compassion behind the mysterious delivery that made Tim curious, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth because it was bang on the money and just what he had needed.

Gibbs watched his agent's smile slowly fade as it was quickly replaced by worry and fatigue. He made a firm mental note to look into this more closely and vowed to find out what the hell was bugging his young agent before the day was out. For now, he settled for enjoying the serenity of the quiet squad room whist trying to work through the information that Ducky had just told him. He was trying to match it against the body language that he was seeing in his agent but came up with nothing, he couldn't fully understand how a dream could have him so rattled, after all it was just a nightmare wasn't it?

Before he knew it, people started to filter into the office for the official work day to begin. There was no time to worry, wonder or even take the young man aside to talk about what was going on with him and that fact irritated him no end, he had to find out by the end of the day but so far, the opportunity refused to show itself.

Two fresh cases landed in their laps and stretched them all to their limit so he partnered Tim with Tony and kept Ziva with himself, as each sub team tackled one case each whilst still bouncing ideas off each other when needed. This was the good thing about the team that he had, they could work separately whilst working together and no matter what they seemed united in ways that made them a strong unit. The cases kept them extremely busy and tense for the remainder of the day,

By the time they'd reached a stopping point for the night, it was almost eight. With every piece of evidence and lead needing to be chased down, all thoughts of what had transpired earlier in the day had vanished. The exhaustion radiating off them was almost palpable as they all tiredly closed down their work stations and began to pack it in for the night, too tired to waste any energy by talking, the silent group headed out to their individual cars. Tony and Ziva had walked out together and made it out ahead of Tim.

At the elevator, Tim was once again hit with the realization that he didn't know what kind of sleep he was going home to and suddenly found his feet frozen to the spot where he was standing, they just refused to move forward into the elevator. He quickly, turned back to the empty squad room, not even stopping as he dropped his backpack on his desk whilst he kept moving towards his destination.

Tony stood at his car and fingered the keys he had just pulled out of his pocket; something was off with his Probie, something he'd noticed it all throughout the day. Tim had been exceedingly quiet and unresponsive to any of his attempts at humor. That was fine, but, what really worried him was the fact that Tim was as equally as unresponsive to any of Tony's put downs. Needing to get the case solved, the Senior Field Agent had let it wash over him and focused on work.

Turning back now towards the elevator to the squad room, he stopped at his other partner to say goodnight. Ziva gazed at him with a bewildered look but he soon soothed her worry with a grin as he encouraged her to go on her way. She silently agreed and headed towards her car knowing that she needed to get some sleep and that her exhaustion was as obvious as everyone else's.

Tony knew Probie well enough to know that he would not want Ziva dragged into whatever it was that was bothering him. His silent, lonely fight with whatever it was bugging him, was proof enough of that seeing as he had made the decision not to talk to any of his friends.

Setting his backpack down on the floor by his desk, he sat in his chair and reclined with his hands interlocked together behind his head prepared to wait Tim out. It wasn't long before Tony had company in the squad room and he sat up expecting to see Tim coming back to his desk. He was shocked however, when it wasn't Tim who'd come back; but Gibbs.

"DiNozzo! What the hell are you still doin' here? "Gibbs barked at him with sheer irritation.

Tony simply looked over at Tim's desk in silent response to his boss' question, Gibbs followed Tony's gaze and fully understood, DiNozzo was still here because McGee was still here. With his head still wrapped up in the two cases they were currently trying to solve, Gibbs wasn't recalling anything that helped this make sense to him and he looked over at Tony with a crease in his brow.

"Tony. Something I need to know about?" Gibbs asked as he walked over to his agent's desk.

"I don't know, Boss. That's what I'm tryin' to find out." Tony answered truthfully, his honest, unadulterated concern was easy to read making Gibbs' curiosity peak.

"What're you basing this on Tony? What makes you think there's somthin' wrong with McGee?" Gibbs fired the questions off in rapid succession hoping that they would trigger the response he wanted.

"Gut feeling, Boss. He's been quiet all day and hasn't risen to any bait."

"He might be tired, DiNozzo, it's been a tough few days." Gibbs still didn't see where this was going, but understood Tony's brotherly concern for his Probie giving how close the two of them had become over the years.

"Come on, Boss! He'd still rise to the bait ,but he hasn't, not once. I've been goin' at him all day and he just ignored me."

"So what bothers you more, Tony, the fact that he acted like an adult or the fact that he ignored you?"

Tony glanced over at his boss with a look of sheer confusion and frowned.

"Hey, I resent that insinuation, Boss! McGoo can ignore me all he wants, but he usually joins in with the banter no matter how tough the case is. It's weird seeing him like this. He only gets like this when somethin's really botherin' him."

The two men were interrupted by the sound of the bathroom door opening and Gibbs walked back to his desk so as not to alert Tim to the fact that they had been talking about him. He sat down and turned to the document he had open in front of him.

"Tony? What're you still doing here; I thought you'd gone home." Tim asked in quiet surprise.

"I did, Probie wan Kenobe, but forgot to grab my keys outta my desk. Hey, you fancy grabbing some dinner? There's a great little place round the corner that serves _the best_ pizza."Tony grinned broadly to emphasize his enthusiasm at going for a bite to eat.

"I'm good, Tony. I just want to grab something quick and crash for the night because I'm tired and just want to sleep." Tim's hesitant voice didn't go un-noticed by his boss who glanced over at him briefly. He watched as Tony nodded and clapped Tim hard on the back.

"Sure. McGoo. I'll see ya tomorrow OK?, Don't do anything I wouldn't do tonight."

Gibbs grinned at the comment and just couldn't help but reply. "Doesn't leave much, DiNozzo."

He heard Tony splutter for a moment before the obligatory "_Night Boss"_ rang through the squad room.

He took off his reading glasses and placed them on his desk before taking a good look at his youngest agent. Tim still looked as though he hadn't been sleeping, something that was emphasized by the dark bruises that sat underneath those pale green eyes.

"Anything on your mind, McGee?" Gibbs asked with concern.

Tim sighed quietly, the questions were something he was hoping to avoid which was the reason he came back in the first place.

"No, Boss, I'm fine, thanks." Tim's tone managed to almost completely hide the truth.

"You been sleepin' all right?" the boss pushed knowingly.

"Just tired, Boss." Tim was being purposely evasive and felt his gut clench when he remembered the fact that Gibbs was a trained investigator and would pick up on what was bothering him. Not to mention the guy was a walking, talking, human lie detector test.

"Huh, I'll take your word for it, McGee, but you look like crap."

"Thanks, Boss, knew I could rely on you to make me feel better." It was a joke, and a rare one coming from Tim, but Tim knew he had upset the older agent with it anyway, because of the sad look that clouded his face.

"Boss, I er…well it's..I'm just tired, Boss, that's all." Tim said apologetically.

Gibbs looked over at the stuttering agent standing before him and looked directly into those large pale green eyes that often betrayed his agent's feelings. He didn't like what he saw and was about to push further when Tim let out a huge yawn.

"Ok, McGee, go home and get some shut eye, ok?"

Tim nodded tiredly and grabbed his pack off the desk. "Sure, Boss, night."

"G'night ,Tim." He watched Tim enter the elevator as his conversation with Ducky suddenly came back to him.

"_Timothy appears to be having nightmares Jethro, keep your eye on him because the poor boy is exhausted and scared."_

"_Duck, he really think these are warnings or is he just feeling it more because he's tired?"_

"_I think he's genuinely frightened about whatever it is, though he seems reluctant to divulge anymore information."_

It was that last sentence that bothered him and after the conversation he'd had with Tony, he knew Tim was playing his cards close to his chest. Gibbs was significantly less than happy at letting this go; sending Tim home to the possibility of more nightmares; but he couldn't force the young man to confide in him. Sad as it was to say, it was obvious Tim didn't trust Gibbs to help him with this. He made a mental promise to himself, to make time to talk to Tim properly before the week was through and to keep close tabs on him for the rest of the week.

Only problem was the fact that they caught another case, leaving little opportunity in the remainder of the week, and before they knew it, it was Friday. There hadn't even been time enough to scrutinize how he seemed to be doing. Gibbs had had little chance to talk to Tim about what had been bothering him…._what was Still bothering him,_ and he had no choice but to leave the young man to stew dangerously by himself.


	4. Chapter 3

A/N Hey guys

As a special treat (and the fact that we haven't posted anymore chapters here for you...we're sorry), we're giving you two chapters...yep! Two chapters

We hope you all had a fantastically good Christmas and are looking forward to the new year

Smartkid37 and Shelbylou xx

_

* * *

Early Yesterday Morning – Before the birds were singing_

_NNNOOOO!" _His large green flew open at the torrid nightmare that had once again haunted him. He sat there dazed and realized that upon waking, he had bolted upright in his bed with a cold sweat covering every part of his body and his hair plastered uncomfortably to his head. Most shockingly was the rate his heart was beating, it was so loud that he could hear the _whoosh whoosh _loudly in his ears and thought for sure that he was in the initial stages of a heart attack.

He contemplated contacting Ducky as he sat there trying to get his breathing under control and succeeded in lessoning both this heart rate and his shallow, panting breaths. But the returning fear drove the vivid images from his nightmare back out into the realm of wakefulness which made his breath hitch in his throat.

They were not content to remain hidden behind in the shadows of his dreams and as his emotions fought the shock of the pictures that ran through his mind, he began to sob harshly with sheer frustration and weariness; he was so tired of this,_would they ever stop?_

Every night this week had been the same and the nightmares were totally relentless. He had gotten very little sleep and what little he actually managed to get was plagued heavily by the torturous dreams leaving his slumber anything but restful. The repeated nightmare and sheer, unadulterated exhaustion killed his appetite and he found that between the lack of sleep and his body's reaction to the lack of energy from food, he just couldn't concentrate on anything or function anymore.

What was really bugging him was the fact that there was no rhyme or reason for these nightmares, the cases at work hadn't been anything exceptionally gruesome or gut wrenching and none of the team members had received any threats of any kind - at least, not in the waking world! That was what made this whole thing so frustrating, frightening and fatiguing.

He gently rolled out of the bed and onto the floor, knowing it was still early, he looked down at his watch and sighed heavily when he realized it was only 3 am. _Oh well, I might as well get up _was his last thought as he turned on the light and made his way to the bathroom.

After almost 2 whole hours of sleep tonight, which was exactly an hour and a half less than last night, he was feeling the physical symptoms of exhaustion more than ever. Every bone in his body ached, there was a slight tremor in his hands and his eyes stung more and more each day. The worst of it was the relentless headache that throbbed dully due to lack of sleep. He relieved his heavily protesting bladder and moved over to the sink to wash his hands. He glanced up and gazed at his reflection with pure misery. The bathroom mirror revealed exactly what he was no longer able to hide from everyone. His puffy, sleep deprived eyes were so bloodshot that he feared the wrath of Gibbs could not be staved off any longer.

He'd noticed Gibbs watching him like a hawk, waiting for him to screw up so he could ream him a new one, it was as if the boss was just waiting for that opportunity seeing as he'd already had one brief conversation with the boss over this. The less than pleasant exchange still rang harshly in his ears.

"_Have you had any sleep?" The harsh tone from Gibbs firmed up his resolve to keep the whole demoralizing story to himself._

"_Not much. Sorry Boss. It won't happen again."_

He'd quickly made his escape and was half afraid that the boss would haul his ass back for a harsher tongue lashing, or at least to tell him that apologizing was a sign of weakness before hauling him off to his conference room. But, surprisingly enough, Gibbs had let him go and no more had been said about the fact that he'd fallen asleep at his desk right before lunch. Thankfully, Tim had eventually managed to shrug off Gibbs' mood which wasn't helped by the fact that the cases were driving every single one of them crazy. It was certainly enough to keep boss on edge and super cranky this week.

As he shuffled toward the shower, he couldn't help but hope the massaging heat would help minimize the effects of yet another night with almost no sleep and way too many nightmares. He really couldn't handle getting a dressing down from Gibbs right now, not that he ever could really 'handle' one, but the frame of mind he was in wasn't really conducive to dealing with them in the same way he usually did. Maybe it was time to do something different before it all came down to that, maybe today was the day to stop hoping that these were just dreams and maybe he should start taking them as the dire warning he'd first feared them to be.

He was thankful to have given up driving during the normal rush hours to and from work and actually enjoyed going in hours earlier in the mornings and staying later than necessary in the evenings. It was mainly because the exhaustion and vivid images from his dreams that plagued him regularly now, made being stuck in a car while standing still in traffic, unsafe and truly frightening.

But the most frightening images came back to haunt him the very minute he had a second thought about the terrible choice he knew he had to make. He just hoped and prayed that he still had time to decide, even if it did break his heart, shattering it into thousands of little pieces. He steadily held onto his resolve to do this, there wasn't really any decision to be made and he soon discovered that there was no other choice.

He pulled into the navy yard and showed his ID to the unlucky guard who snagged the night duty. It was protocol and Tim knew every single one of the security guards that helped keep them safe.

"Hey ,Agent McGee." The guard glanced at his watch and whistled "You're really early this morning, what has you here at 4.30am?"

Tim knew he had to keep his head and grinned broadly at the man leaning into the window of his Porsche.

"Just a few loose ends that need tying up, trust me, it's easier to do with a bit of peace and quiet."

"Yes it is, there's nothing like it is there. Ok ,Agent McGee, in you go and I'll see you later on."

"Thanks, what time do you get off?" Tim knew that the guard would tell Gibbs If he happened to turn up before the gatekeeper left.

"Er, I've still got about an hour, it's always that last bit of your shift that drags." He smiled ruefully and yawned.

"Looks like it's been a long night. Anyway, I better be going, you take care and make sure you get some sleep OK?." Tim's façade was obviously a hit and the guard chuckled to himself gently.

"Yes , Sir, you know you're the only one that stops to talk to an old man. Have a good day Agent McGee." With that last thought, he walked back into the small cabin and raised the barrier for Tim to pass.

_Well, that's one obstacle out of the way; at least the boss won't know what time I arrived this morning._

With that thought, he parked his car and walked across the parking garage. It was times like this he heard the terrifying screams, the agony and pain that spilled out of his family's mouths as they were beaten repeatedly by the unknown assailant. It rang in his ears true and loud bringing forth every last bit of angst and worry he always felt and carried around with him directly after the dream itself.

_I have to do this, I have no choice anymore._

_It's the only way to save them._


	5. Chapter 4

_Yesterday Morning_

Tim arrived at work at some ungodly hour in the morning that still saw DC shrouded in dusky darkness. He found it strangely serene and even though he was used to coming into work early, the fact that the roads in the normally bustling city were quiet gave him time to contemplate and think about the day ahead. It wasn't long before he was pulling into the Navy yard and managed to park easily before stepping out and grabbing his bag.

Stepping off the elevator, he was relieved to find the squad room empty which made it easier for him to walk over to his desk with the temporary confidence he had managed to muster on his journey in. He sank down heavily in his office chair feeling grateful for the small mercies that saw the nightshift out somewhere and powered up his computer before going for a coffee in hope that the caffeine fix would help clear his mind of the fog that seemed to constantly move in and linger there in the crevices hidden among the nightmares.

Tim prepared the coffee and he carried the hot mug of coffee to his desk, sinking down with a fierce determination that would make his boss proud. No matter what he was going to get this done now and was feeling more and more thankful for the emptiness that surrounded him. He relaxed back and clicked on one of the small icons on his desktop and started to type furiously as pure drive overtook every thought process giving him a one track mind that could only focus on the task ahead of him.

It didn't take him long to do what he needed to do and he sat back and stretched, the first mug of coffee hadn't really touched the weariness that plagued him so he stood up winched when his back popped loudly, only to sigh with the relief that it bought before picking up his empty mug and going for a refill. When he came back, he was shocked to see Director Vance waiting for him.

"Agent McGee. You're here unnecessarily early. Apparently, we need to have a discussion. My office. Now!" The older man ordered.

"Yes, Sir." Tim answered sheepishly as he hurried to put his coffee down on his desk before hurrying to catch up to the man.

Once inside the Director's Office, Tim stood uncomfortably by the door, unsettled and unfamiliar with being in here unless it involved a case, which he was well aware, that this time it did not.

"Agent McGee, have a seat. I promise not to bite." Vance said with a small smile as he pulled out a new toothpick and began to chew on it thoughtfully.

"How long have you been here McGee?" Vance asked as a way to break the ice.

"Since the year before Ziva came." Tim answered honestly, he had a good idea where the Director was going with this so decided to try to play it cool.

"And in all that time, have you ever felt the need to do this?"

"No, Sir."

"This is an incredibly short notice, McGee. Care to explain?" Vance pushed.

"I can't' Sir. It's personal."

"You do realize that such an answer will only result in an unsatisfactory mark on your record?" Vance hated to do this to the placid young agent who seemed to excel more with his career every day but red tape and bureaucracy that surrounded his position prohibited him in ways that his staff would ever fully understand.

"Yes, Sir."

"And you're willing to let that happen?"

"Not willing, Sir; resigned to it." Tim's shoulders slumped at the admission sparking the Directors curiosity as to what it was that had prompted such rash actions in his young agent.

"Why?"

"I can't talk about this. With all due respect, I've already told you it's personal, Sir."

"So personal, you're willing to do an end run around your immediate supervisor?" Vance was incredulous, he had no idea what was going on in that head of Tim's but didn't want to let the situation lie.

"No, Sir. I wasn't trying to do that, I was just trying to firm everything up before I brought it up to him."

"Mmm. Securing your position, Okay, I get that. But do you really think Agent Gibbs will sit still for this?"

"No Sir, I know he won't. That's why I felt like I should have your awareness and okay on it before he found out."

"You think I enjoy pissing the man off?" He huffed out a short laugh at the end of his question and waited patiently for Tim to answer.

"No, Sir."

"Well, I don't like it. You have a brilliant future ahead of you and you're what? Simply walking away from it? Practically throwing it away with the incredibly short notice you've offered?" He watched Tim carefully and noted the fact that the young man shrank in on himself and was currently sitting staring at his hands.

"Yes, Sir."

"I'm not blind, Agent McGee. I can see that this is not what you want to do."

"It doesn't matter Sir. I have to do this." Tim finally looked up at the director and tried to muster that confidence he had felt earlier. It returned enough for him to be able to plead his case eye to eye with his Boss' Boss.

"Very well, Agent McGee. Your request for resignation has been duly noted. Final word will be handed down AFTER I speak with Agent Gibbs. Dismissed.

_Yesterday afternoon__  
__4 PM_

Gibbs was furious, beyond God-fearing angry and was heading straight into the realm of seeing red. _What the hell was wrong with this kid? Who the hell did he think he was dealing with and why the hell_ _was he trying to throw his career away like this? Sure, he'd had a rough week and looked like he hadn't been sleeping much, but who on the team had been? It had been a crappy week all round for everyone but surely it hadn't been bad enough to warrant this._

He wracked his brain trying to think of _something,_ anything that could provide him with some explanation but he came up completely blank. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened; the cases that had landed in their laps this week still ate away at them while they dug and searched for the clues and missing pieces needed to solve them, and the team had had to pull a string of seriously long days; but there had been nothing to explain this _- had there?_

Having been summoned to Leon's office as soon as they'd, thankfully, been able to solve the two cases a short hour ago, Gibbs had made the decision to send his team home. They'd earned it and deserved the rest that they so desperately needed at the moment, there was only the closing paperwork to be done which could wait until the morning.

Gibbs found himself practically struck dumb after just being handed the shocking request that his agent had apparently filed that morning. He had been completely blown away and didn't know what to say or offer as an explanation. For once, Vance had left that rare occasion alone; choosing to respect the seriousness of the situation instead.

After a long few minutes of silence, Gibbs looked at Vance and admitted he hadn't had a clue this was coming.

"He knows he's expected to talk to you about this. Claims he was just getting his ducks in a row before that conversation took place." Vance informed the frustrated and angry Team Leader.

Gibbs nodded and headed back downstairs with the offending piece of paper still in his hand intending on going directly to Ducky instead of back to the squad room.

"Jethro. What brings you to my humble abode?" Ducky asked with a twang of curiosity since there were no cases at the moment..

Gibbs silently handed Ducky the paper that was to blame for the raging emotions churning inside the Senior Agent at the moment and waited patiently whilst the M.E. read the note.

"Oh, dear! I take it this comes as a complete surprise to you?"

"Well, yeah, Duck. Look at the date stamp. He just sent it in this morning. What the hell's wrong with him? Why would he do something like this without talking to me first?"

"It does seem to be the actions of someone not quite thinking clearly." Ducky worried as he headed over to his desk phone.

"He knows he can come to me with anything, why the hell didn't he? Why does he always do this? He never comes to me!"" Gibbs continued to fume, oblivious to the fact that Ducky was making a phone call.

"Jethro, Calm down!" Ducky admonished calmly as the phone on the other end rang over speakerphone.

"McGee." Came the obviously exhausted voice on the other end of the phone as it was answered.

Gibbs' eyes snapped over to Ducky's as the M.E. looked at Gibbs while he spoke to the Agent in question.

"Timothy. We haven't had a chance to catch up since you spoke to me on Monday about your nightmare. I realize it's been a very hectic week for the team, how've you been sleeping, young man?"

"I don't even think you could call it sleeping, Ducky. What little I get, is full of the same thing. I'm lucky if I manage 2 hours of sleep before the nightmares wake me up." Tim's quiet, tired admission made Ducky frown.

"Timothy, where are you dear boy?" Ducky intervened.

"At the coffee shop near the back gate of the Yard. It's kinda useless for me to go home right now because it's not like I'm gonna be able to sleep."

"Ok Timothy, I want you to stay there and I will come join you. You need to come home with me so I can give you something to help you sleep more soundly." Ducky requested, it was heartfelt and full of concern for his young friend.

"Thanks, Ducky. But can't you just let me take it home with me? I don't wanna cause you any trouble by putting you out like that" Tim asked with a sigh.

"Nonsense! It's no trouble at all. I'll be there shortly."

"Thanks, Ducky. Listen, can you do me a favor please, and keep this between us?"

'Oh? Why wouldn't you wish for Jethro to know the trouble you're having?"

"Because he's already gonna be pissed enough at me by tomorrow morning. No need to give him more ammo against me. He stays pissed at me enough as it is."

Gibbs' eyebrows met his hairline as he looked silently at Ducky, who steadily and calmly looked back at him while he answered Tim's request.

"Well, Timothy, it's your decision, but I do believe you are grossly shortchanging both yourself and Jethro. He is more able to understand than you give him credit for."

"Not when it comes to me, Ducky. Thank you for everything and I'll see you when you get here." Tim answered sadly before he ended the call.

"What the hell does he mean, Duck?" Gibbs demanded harshly once the call was over.

"Jethro, I'm afraid, that is something you'll have to figure out." Ducky answered sympathetically as he closed up shop and walked out with the younger man. "I take it Timothy is planning on coming in tomorrow to discuss this with you?"

"We're all coming in to put the cases to bed. It's a good thing, too because if he is determined to leave then they'll all wanna be here to say their goodbyes and give him hell for leaving."

"No declarations of how it's not going to happen if you can help it?" Duck asked in surprise, his old friend was so predictable that he found it strange.

"Well, yeah, there is that." Gibbs said with a grim look of determination.

"Relax, Jethro. Tonight, he'll get a good night's sleep and he'll be better able to think about things tomorrow. Besides, if you're really bothered about this, as I believe you are; you can always come to talk to him at breakfast in the morning."

"Thanks, Duck." Gibbs answered as they went to their separate cars and headed out.

At the coffee shop, Ducky slid into the booth across from Tim and silently looked him over.

"Hey, Ducky." Tim said quietly. "I really appreciate you doing this. You must be tired, too."

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am quite ready to call it a night. Are you fit to drive? What have you been drinking?"

"Milk, actually. Been nursing this one for a while now. Don't seem able to even drink this; much less anything else." Tim admitted.

"Timothy, tell me exactly what you've eaten in the last 48 hours." Ducky instructed.

"Very little actually. I can't help it, Ducky, I just haven't been hungry and I've never been very good at forcing myself to eat when I have no appetite." Tim explained wearily. Ducky glanced down at Tim's hand and noticed the slight tremor.

"That's perfectly understandable young man. All right, Where is your car?"

"Still in the employee garage." Tim admitted ruefully, he hadn't felt much like driving and he used the time travelling over to the coffee shop to think.

"You walked here? It's much too far on foot Timothy."

"No, I got a ride." Tim assured the M.E.

"Good that was a smart choice. All right, Let's go. It's time you finally allowed your body to rest for at least 8 hours, more if at all possible" If Ducky had his way, then this exhausted young man would rest for at least a day before facing the world again.

"Ducky, I can't deal with anymore of these nightmares." Tim worried tone had Ducky frowning heavily as he realized it probably wasn't just the nightmares that were keeping Tim awake at night, it was the anticipation too.

"Relax, Timothy, we shall endeavor to see that you get through this, all right?"

"We?" Tim asked with concern.

"You and I." Ducky clarified with a definitive promise that he hoped would put Tim's mind at ease.

"Thanks Ducky, I appreciate it." The response was quiet but earnest, Tim needed help and at this point in time he would do anything to get some uninterrupted sleep. Ducky saw the slight flicker of fear that ran through Tim's eyes and patted his hand in a fatherly manner.

"Come. Let's get going so you can get some rest." Was Ducky's only answer as they stood and turned to leave.


	6. Chapter 5

It didn't take long for Ducky to drive Tim to his house. They stopped off to let Tim grab the obligatory overnight bag out of the trunk of his car and the two of them drove in near silence as the younger man's thoughts swirled around in his head. A mere hour later found Tim finally peacefully and soundly sleeping; completely oblivious to the fact that Ducky was in the midst of locking up for the night.

As he turned off lights and the tea kettle, Ducky decided to take a few minutes to sit out on his front porch and enjoy the peaceful and calming atmosphere of the world outside. He found himself enthralled every time as the wildlife changed swiftly from the day shift to the night shift and he couldn't help but marvel at the sheer beauty of the living world which he loved and appreciated deeply. Moving outside, he cupped his hands round the mug of tea he had prepared and stepped out onto the smooth porch that Gibbs' had lovingly repaired for him. He wasn't completely surprised to find his old friend already occupying the front porch swing when he finally turned to sit down.

"Jethro, why on earth didn't you come in?"

"Didn't want him to know I was here, Duck." Gibbs had been at a complete loss as to what to do and decided to stay outside playing the silent sentinel so as not to upset his agent further.

"Well he's asleep now. You're more than welcome to check on him if it will put your mind at ease."

"Thanks, Duck." Gibbs said without moving, his gaze fixed firmly on the small raccoon that was scurrying across the grass. "How is he?"

"Nervous and exhausted." Ducky said honestly and Gibbs noticed how the M.E.'s voice was heavily tainted with concern. Sighing heavily, the younger man rubbed his eyes with his hand. He really didn't know what to do and this whole situation was becoming more and more stressful as time went on.

"I'll just look in on him and then I'll go. How long's he been asleep?" Gibbs said,

"Not quite 30 minutes." Ducky admitted.

"You figuring the sedative you gave him, will help keep whatever nightmares he's havin' away Duck?" The hopeful question didn't go amiss by Ducky, but if the M.E. was going to be honest with himself; he just didn't have the answer to that question. He decided that pacifying Gibbs was probably the best route right now given the emotional tension that rolled off his old friend.

"I'm fairly certain his mind is exhausted enough to sleep deeper than the dream threshold."

Gibbs nodded his understanding and stood silently before heading inside to check on his agent. As he stood in the doorway to the bedroom where the young man slept, Gibbs couldn't help but marvel at how young the kid looked whilst sleeping. He found himself feeling a little amazed at the difference, especially seeing as Tim seemed to have aged considerably over the past few weeks.

Realizing that his agent was trying to walk away from his team, from him, without a fight or even a conversation; somehow brought the dormant parental lion into play. He found himself stepping over to Tim's bed and perching down on the edge just to be close enough to protect his younger surrogate son from the night terrors that had been plaguing him. _Somehow_, he thought, _I have to get him to talk to me before he goes through with this._

Gibbs reached out and smoothed Tim's hair back from the smooth, youthful skin of his forehead. It was an involuntary action and he realized, that it was one he used with Kelly when she was sleeping. It held nothing but warmth and affection, a father protecting his young. He smiled ruefully before averting his eyes to the large moonlit window.

"McGee, why is it you never come to me when you need to?" Gibbs asked quietly, not expecting an answer but leaving the question hanging in the air.

Almost as if he'd heard Gibbs' question, Tim shifted in his sleep and began to show the first tell tale signs of the restlessness that signaled a torrid nightmare on the horizon. Silently watching for any sign that this was gonna become even more problematic, Gibbs took out his phone and called Ducky,

Instead of answering the call, Ducky hurried into the room and stopped in the doorway to watch as Gibbs attempted to calm the steadily increasing restlessness that Tim's mind was obviously expressing in his unconscious state. Without wasting any more time, Gibbs reached over and whispered gently in his agent's ear.

"Sssh. Relax, Tim. You're okay. "

The signs of Gibbs' effect were instantaneous and Tim's restlessness quickly waned to the peaceful, calm slumber that he needed. It struck Ducky as slightly strange that the young man's boss had managed to calm his young charge with just a few words, the deep voice calming Tim to the point where the rigid set relaxed into nothing. It was almost as if Tim's tension had slipped away as quick as it had come.

"Interesting" Ducky marveled from the doorway heralding his presence. Gibbs looked up from Tim and smiled gently at the obviously exhausted M.E. before returning his attention back to his agent.

"Go on to bed, Duck. I'm gonna sit with him for a while." Gibbs said quietly without taking his eyes off of Tim's still form.

"Jethro, he'll be quite upset if he wakes to find you here." Ducky reminded his friend, he had no idea how Tim would react to waking up with a different guardian watching over him and that fact alone worried him. The young man had, after all, specifically requested that Ducky keep this problem to himself. Trust was one thing Ducky adamantly refused to break.

"It's more important that he gets sleep. You too. He'll get over it, Duck." Gibbs answered back with his 'don't argue with me' tone, albeit at a much quieter volume than usual.

"All right. Thank you, Jethro. Why don't you go fix yourself some coffee before I leave you to your twilight vigil?" Ducky suggested knowing damn well that Gibbs wouldn't be able to sleep at all but would still need the benefit of the caffeine kick.

"Yeah. Good idea, Duck" Gibbs answered quietly as he retreated to the kitchen, leaving Ducky to watch over their troubled agent whilst he was gone.

Gibbs made short work of preparing a pot of coffee and found himself sitting watching over Tim while he slept. A short fifteen minutes later, Ducky headed off to his own bed to catch up on his own much needed sleep. Gibbs did a quick scan of the room and figured out that switching the recliner for the nightstand would help him get closer to his sleeping agent, giving him the leeway to help faster if Tim's mind wandered off to whatever personal hell it deviated to at night.

He was right and he was soon sitting back and and even able to relax while being close enough to reach out and lay a calming hand on Tim's shoulder whilst quietly speaking to him when it became necessary without having to get up or move much from his perch. He smiled softly to himself and thought of the fact that sitting there like that, actually gave him more rest than he would have ordinarily gotten and for that he was thankful.

The night passed with more than a handful of restless episodes that had Tim thrashing about in the bed until Gibbs' gentle words stilled him. If anything, the night was telling. By 5 AM Gibbs' worry had steadily climbed until it was now almost through the roof. Something serious was going on and it was no wonder Tim hadn't gotten much sleep recently. It was obviously less sleep than the rest of the team had gotten, given Tim's bedraggled appearance at work and judging by the lengths his mind seemed to be going to, to force him through whatever nightmare seemed to be waiting for him beyond the boundaries that the current combination of a calming hand and voice and the sedative seemed to have. Obviously, whatever this nightmare was, was clearly set firmly in Tim's mind.

After Gibbs re-arranged the furniture back to the way it was supposed to be, he whispered calming words one last time to his sleeping agent hoping it would be enough to let the young man sleep until Ducky got up because he didn't want to chance Tim waking up and finding him sitting there keeping watch. It would undoubtedly increase Tim's stress levels, serving to freak the kid out more than usual; on that score, Ducky was right and even Gibbs had to agree that Tim finding him there would not be a good idea.

Slipping out of the room, Gibbs made his way to the kitchen and fixed fresh coffee for himself. Taking the time to turn everything off, he let himself out of the house and drove to work where he started the day with a fresh set of worry laying leaden in his gut. He knew the team would be arriving in just an hour or two and needed the solitude and the fresh coffee that the early start would offer by way of collecting his thoughts together.

Unfortunately, as the day wore on and the team started to filter in, there was no time for any conversations regarding Tim's resignation or anything else for that matter. Gibbs had been called up to MTAC and it looked as though he'd be stuck there for the remainder of the day. While he dealt with the bureaucracy at hand and the crap he hated most that did nothing but strengthen his resolve to never sit in the Director's chair, he internally fumed about the fact that this was keeping him away from trying to figure out a much more serious problem with one of his team members, he just hoped he'd somehow be able to get to that before it was too late.

Down in the squad room; Team Gibbs seemed jovial; well, at least two-thirds of it did. Tim remained quiet and withdrawn and although Tony and Ziva made numerous attempts to draw him out; he continued to plead exhaustion and to be kept out of the ensuing arguments. He hadn't snapped at them, which was a good sign in the midst of all the bad ones that were becoming more difficult now to miss. The team worried; while Tim had gone through periods of being withdrawn like this before; it was always a sign of trouble when he was and it un-nerved them. _And the exhaustion_? While they'd all had an extremely tough week; Tim was the only one of them that still looked like he hadn't slept for a week. The fact that Probie was wearing his exhausted state as visibly as his shirt was startling. Whatever was wrong in their probie's life was starting to impact their friend physically.

As much as they wanted to find out what was going on with their teammate, the cases from the past week needed to be written up and put to bed and without Gibbs present among them to keep them focused, it seemed to take them all day to get it done. Soon it was pushing on five in the afternoon and the day had slowly moved into the evening. They had all managed to put the cases to bed, with the exception of the final approval on their reports still pending Gibbs' perusal. Since none of them wanted to risk the wrath of Gibbs by leaving without that hurdle being cleared, Tony and Ziva retreated to the break room to take a minute to eat something and recharge their batteries, leaving Tim in solitude for the first time that day.

Gibbs was exhausted and fed up when he was finally done with MTAC, he glanced at his watch and cringed when he saw it was already 5.30pm. Coming down the stairs to his team's work area, he was unhappy to find it empty, well almost empty because Tim was still plugging away at whatever it was he was doing.

"Where are Tony and Ziva?" Gibbs asked the one remaining member of his team.

"Break room, Boss." Tim answered while continuing to steadily type on his keyboard. The fact that Tim didn't even glance up from the screen didn't go un-noticed and totally betrayed the young man's discomfort.

"What's going on, McGee?" the boss asked quietly It hadn't escaped his notice that the young man looked as though he'd had a sleepless night again. _How was that possible? The kid slept through the night! Did all that restlessness affect his sleep worse than it looked?_

"Boss?"

"What are you workin' on?"

"Cleaning up my hard drive. Erasing all unnecessary passwords and all that stuff." Tim said seriously as he respectfully, finally looked at his boss.

"Why?" Gibbs asked as the reminder that this agent in front of him was leaving the team after today, crashed back to the forefront of his mind.

"Boss, didn't you get my…" Tim started to ask but was cut off by his boss's stern voice.

"Oh, yeah. McGee. I got your letter of resignation. Got it yesterday after you left. Doesn't answer my question though."

"I can't explain it." Tim tried to get out of it but had temporarily forgotten that Gibbs didn't respond well to evasiveness.

"You hand in your resignation to Vance, with no prior notice; and you can't explain it to me." Gibbs said almost conversationally; although the steely tone couldn't be missed.

"Boss, I would if I could; but it's not something I can explain."

"Uh-huh. Well, I gotta tell ya, McGee, I'm really disappointed in ya. I expected better, especially from you." Gibbs bit out angrily as he picked up his coffee cup and stormed out passing his stunned agents as they returned from the break room. They had been on their way back to the squad room when they'd heard the exchange and stopped dead in their tracks as shock seemed to cement their feet firmly to the floor where they stood.

Tony watched the boss storm angrily down the stairs and took his cell phone to quietly call Abby and quietly tell her to hightail up to the squad room. He told her it was urgent so she worriedly promised she'd be right there. Whilst waiting for Abby's arrival, Tony put his phone away and shared a worried glance with Ziva; who also stayed out of sight until Abby arrived. They would do this together as a team.

When Abby stepped off the elevator, Tony bent over and whispered in her ear and asked her to stay out of sight while he and Ziva did the initial heavy lifting on this problem. Silently nodding her approval, Abby backed up to the wall and stood silently listening as Ziva and Tony approached Tim's desk with trepidation.

"Probie. We've been asking you all day what's going on with you and you've refused to tell us. Now, we hear you and Gibbs goin' at it because you've resigned? What the hell, Tim? Why would you do that without talking to us first?"

"It's not something I wanted to bother you guys with. I don't have a choice and the only thing I can do is resign."

"Probie, unless someone's holding a gun to your head and physically making you do this, then that excuse doesn't wash!" Tony answered back angrily.

"Close enough, Tony." Tim said quietly. "So close, you have no idea."

"What? Tim! Come on, talk to us man. What the hell's going on?" Tony's voice instantly changed to concern.

"Tony. I can't explain it. I …"

"McGee, why don't you come join us for drinks and tell us about it? We want to help." Ziva stepped in hoping that a beer or two would loosen him up enough to talk to them. It was the only thing she could think of at that moment, knowing damn well that Tim wouldn't open up at the moment.

"Yeah, Okay. I can do that." Tim said gratefully hoping that relaxing with his friends would help loosen the tight ball of tension that resided in his chest.

"Timmy!" Abby cried quietly as she came out of the shadows and stepped up to hug him.

"Abby. I'm sorry."

"You'll explain it to us, right? When you meet us for drinks?" Abby demanded quietly.

"Yeah. I'll explain it," Tim said on a sigh.

Tony's phone rang.

"DiNozzo." He answered it.

"All of you go home." Gibbs ordered before he ended the call. As he stood in the shadows, just beyond the squad room listening, his stomach churned. This needed to be fixed. Now!

"Gibbs just said we can go. Made it an order, in fact." Tony said with a grin as he put his phone away.

"You guys go on. I'll meet up with you. I promise." Tim said with a nod.

"One hour, Probie! You'd better be at Shooters in one hour or I'm comin' back her to get your ass and drag it there!" Tony warned.

"I'll be there, Tony. I promise." Tim vowed as the team headed out without him.

Waiting in the shadows, Gibbs watched as his youngest agent packed up his desk. The squad room was eerily quiet except for the sounds of Tim McGee packing up what had been his home away from home for the past six years and it wasn't long before Tim's heavy sigh was heard as the box he was using had finally become home to the last of his belongings. He watched with sadness as Tim paused slightly before picking up his belongings and walking over to the elevator.

With his heart breaking for his agent, Gibbs saw him hold the button for the doors and take one last look round the squad room; It was a look of deep sorrow and regret which distracted him momentarily before he released the button. Without letting any of the increasing measure of anger that had climbed steadily out of the rubble of his confusion and lack of information about what was happening right in front of him, Gibbs stepped up to the elevator and in his patented maneuver, stuck his hand between the almost closed doors, and waited for the sensor to kick in enough to open the doors again for him. It was a spur of the minute ploy that would hopefully allow him to stop his Agent from making this mistake.

As he stepped onto the elevator, he couldn't help but notice that Tim had immediately tensed up, his stance was so rigid it actually did look physically painful. Giving Tim a minute to rein his anxiousness in, Gibbs remained uncharacteristically silent.

Gibbs reached over and hit the switch to put his 'conference room' into use.

Uncharacteristically, he remained silent, almost as if he were waiting for his agent to automatically open up and let him in.

"Talk to me." Gibbs finally pushed, unable to take the silence that radiated from Tim anymore; his quiet concerned tone, heard only on rare occasions before now.

"Boss, I… I'm…..I can't." came the equally quiet and reluctant reply.

"Why can't you talk to me about this, Tim?" Making sure his tone remained calm, he roped in his aggravation that it would be now of all times for his agent to let his stubborn streak run free. The use of his given name made the younger man flinch uncomfortably

"Because …because there's nothing you can do about this except dismiss it as not real; and I just can't take that chance, Boss." Came the cautious answer seemingly loaded with genuine fear.

"If I give you my word that I will take whatever this is about, seriously, would you be willing to talk to me?" Gibbs asked in compassionate seriousness.

"Boss, I would have talked to you about it Monday, if I had known I could count on that!" the younger man exclaimed in a rare show of all-out frustration.

"I'm listening now, Tim."

Tim nodded morosely knowing damn well that he wouldn't be getting out of this anytime soon. He glanced up at his boss and watched with a pang of horror as his boss flipped the switch back on and pushed the button that would return them to the Squad room. The atmosphere in that small elevator was loaded as the two men silently travelled to their destination, it wasn't long before Gibbs was ushering Tim out through the doors, gesturing for Tim to precede him on the journey to a real conference room. Gibbs did something so out of character that even he was surprised by his actions; not wanting to startle Tim, he pulled out his phone and sent a text message to Ducky asking him to join them.

It was more a common courtesy than it was concern for Tim's health given the fact that the M.E. had been working hard to help Tim through this and deserved to be in on this discussion, after all, this wasn't just about Tim's problem, it was also about his plan of action so he could finally, hopefully, solve this whole situation.

As they settled into their chairs, Gibbs started the discussion by asking what bothered him the most.

"McGee, why haven't you said anything?" Gibbs' tone wasn't harsh, it wasn't necessarily angry, either. What did shine through was the underlying hurt tone at being left out of the loop with Tim, yet again.

"Boss, when was I supposed to do that? We've had more cases thrown at us in this one week, than we had the entire month before that. It's not like you would have accepted my trying to throw this into the middle of all that." Tim explained sadly, he would have liked nothing better than to sit down and talk to his boss, but the fear that he'd think he had finally flipped worried him.

"I get that Tim so how about we start from the beginning before this eats at ya."

"It's not that easy boss. I can't…."

"Tim. You said if I promised to take you seriously, you would tell me what the hell this is about. I gave you my word. Now, you need to keep yours. Tell me what this is about." Gibbs pushed.

"Yes, Timothy, please. Tell us what is bothering you so badly you're willing to throw away your career!" Ducky entreated as he entered the room

Pinching his nose in frustration and stress, Tim took a minute to pull his thoughts together. How could he explain this? While he needed their help, he didn't want this conversation to end badly or with results that didn't help; or worse; made the situation worse. Taking a deep breath, Tim let it out and dove in head first.

"Okay. It started Sunday night…"


	7. Chapter 6

Gibbs handed Tim a fresh cup of coffee knowing that the kid would probably need the caffeine kick to keep him going. It had been a long couple of hours and Tim was still explaining his actions and why it was so important that he resign from the team and job that he truly loved. Gibbs felt his heart break little by little as Tim recounted the torrid nightmares that had kept him awake, night after night, hour after hour.

Gibbs had already called ahead to let Tony know that Tim wouldn't be there within that allotted hour and told them all to hang around because Tim would be with them as soon as he could. Now, as Gibbs sat listening to the young man's explanation; he felt for him and understood the kid's fears about his nightmare. He knew how Tim harbored a lump of genuine fear that sat in the pit of his stomach from it all and that worried him. But there was another emotion, one that threatened to spill over harshly until this whole situation had been resolved and both Tim and his family were safe. He felt anger; anger that Tim hadn't come to either him or Ducky, as soon as this started. Instead he'd let it get so out of hand, so far into taking over his life that he couldn't eat or sleep and was now genuinely and deeply worried about his folks as well as giving up his career.

_Well, first things first_. Pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, he flipped it open and made a call that would hopefully, help put Tim's mind at ease…._Well, lift some of the burden anyway_.

He glanced over at his agent who was currently talking to Ducky, and realized just how young and vulnerable the kid still seemed. If anything, Tim reminded him of a child yearning for his parents to wrap him up and keep him safe and warm from the nightmares that plagued him.

"_Boss?"_

"DiNozzo, you three get back here. Got a case." It was short and abrupt. He ended the call knowing that there was nothing else that needed to be said; if he gave the nod, his agents would follow without question or argument. Standing up, he pointed at Tim with a sincere look that let Tim know that his boss meant business.

"Call your folks. Make sure you're satisfied that they're okay. Ask the right questions without spooking them. We'll figure out what to do after I talk to the Director."

"But, Boss…" Tim sputtered.

"No, McGee! You think this is a valid reason for resigning? Well it's not! This is a valid reason to put your family under protective watch! There's something going on in that mind of yours McGee and it's making your gut twitch. I don't like it and from where I'm standing, there's a hell of a difference between your solution and mine!" Gibbs barked as he headed out and flew up to the director's office to fill him in.

"That's what this was about?" Vance asked incredulously. He didn't know what to make of Gibbs' revelation and sat back in his chair trying to make sense of it all. He knew for a fact that the kid had been under par recently, but had no idea as to the reason.

"Yeah, Leon. That's it." Gibbs agreed.

"Why the hell couldn't he just tell me that?"

"C'mon, Leon, who the hell was gonna listen to him sprouting off about his dreams?" Gibbs didn't shout, but his tone let his displeasure at having to justify Tim's fears known.

"Come again? " Vance asked in an unhappy tone.

"That was his point, Leon. He knew it would be a hard sell and he didn't have the energy or the stamina to fight through it. It was taking everything he had to hold on to a semblance of normality in order for him to do his job."

"And you didn't see a problem?"

"Leon, it's like McGee said, we've had more cases in this one week, than we've had the whole month before this. Everyone was tired, Tony and McGee were paired up on one case, while I worked the other with Ziva. There was no time to notice anything." Gibbs started to pace in an effort to get rid of his pent up frustration. There wasn't time for this and every second he spent trying to convince Vance, was time away from helping Tim.

"Every one of them looked like they hadn't slept a week, so no! I didn't see a problem. It wasn't until things settled down yesterday that it really became noticeable to me. Unless you were working with him all week like DiNozzo, then the chances of noticing were pretty slim."

"I take it; you've managed to get him to retract his resignation."

"I've told him this doesn't amount to him needing to resign. Leon, but,if we can't put his family in protective custody, we're gonna lose him anyway."

"Gibbs, I can't sanction putting a family in protective custody if I don't know what or whom we're protecting them from!" Vance couldn't help the flash of _'It's just a damn nightmare' _that flew through his mind. Protection duty didn't just cut into the budgets; it took valuable man power that he wasn't sure he could spare.

"Yeah. I figured you'd say that. Then what do you suggest we do; tell him "oh, well, too bad?" Gibbs asked angrily.

"No, Gibbs! That's not what I'm suggesting.

"Then what the hell do you expect me to do? Sit around and watch a damn fine agent walk away from one of the most promising careers I've ever seen? You wanna let me keep worryin' himself sick?"

"No Agent Gibbs, I don't!, on either count. I expect you to come to me with a better argument than the one that says I have to protect a family based around a nightmare."

"It should be enough, _Director_." Vance scowled at the emphasis on 'Director' "The kid's scared witless, Leon and is willing to do what it takes to protect his family. This is more than dreams; it's his gut telling him something's wrong!"

Gibbs stopped mid rant and watched as Leon sat back in his chair with his elbows resting on the arms. He had his hands together with only his fingertips touching and looked as though he was contemplating exactly what Gibbs had just said.

Tony, Abby and Ziva walked back to the squad room in worried silence. Tim hadn't joined them at the bar and they knew for a fact his car was still parked in the parking lot. Those two facts helped compound the feeling of anxiousness they had, especially seeing as Gibbs had sounded so angry on the phone. That in itself wasn't good and the three of them traveled back in near silence with worry hanging over them like a storm cloud. _Just what the hell was going on?_

Tony's cell phone rang again; this time it was Ducky.

"Ducky?"

"Anthony, when the three of you arrive back at NCIS, could you kindly come up to Conference Room 2, please?" the M.E. asked politely. His voice was neutral and didn't give anything away.

"Sure, Ducky. We've just arrived. We'll be right up."

"Thank you, my dear boy."

C'mon, ladies, we're needed up in the conference room." Tony said as he stepped back and let Abby and Ziva head up the stairs in front of him.

As they entered the conference room, they saw Tim snap his phone shut before getting up out of his chair. Tim's stance was rigid and Tony had to fight back the urge to palpitate the muscles on his Probie's neck to stop him from feeling stiff and sore. He watched as Tim walked towards the door, only pausing briefly to greet the three incoming team members before leaving without another word.

"Ducky? What's going on?" Tony asked with confusion as he took Tim's vacated seat, while the ladies sat in the seats directly on either sides of Tony.

As Ducky relayed what exactly was going on with Tim; the three of them felt their hearts drop down into their shoes. Tim must really be in fear for his family's safety for him to have been willing to quit. If he thought that was the only way to keep this dream from becoming a reality; then his fear was genuinely, bone-deep as he convinced himself that this was a premonition and not just a dream.

"This is why he has not been himself all week, yes?" Ziva asked compassionately.

"Yes. It is also why he hasn't been eating or sleeping." Ducky informed them.

"Oh, No! Poor Timmy. He must be about to drop from exhaustion?" Abby asked tearfully. "I mean, if he hasn't eaten or slept, he's…"

"It appears so, yes. Abigail. Even though I took him home with me last night so he could get some help sleeping through the night; it would appear that even the beginnings of this nightmare cause him to be restless enough that his mind does not benefit from the slumber he receives." Ducky's tone turned rueful at the fact that he couldn't help Tim.

"Why didn't he say anything to me, Ducky? We've been partnered up all week, working these cases and he didn't say a word!" Tony fumed. He didn't know exactly who he was angry with, Tim for not opening up or himself for not realizing that there was something else bar the bone crushing exhaustion that they were all feeling.

"Anthony, you must remember that Timothy is well aware that with this job, the cases come first. If he had allowed himself to talk about this, then it would have taken away his ability to perform his duties and that would have not helped him in the slightest." Ducky reminded him.

"Yeah, I know. It's just…"

"Frustrating!" Abby filled in for him. "He didn't say a word to me either. I'm guessing it because of what Ducky said. But he should have said something Ducky, He could've trusted us."

"Oh Abigail, I don't think it's got anything to do with trust my dear." Ducky moved towards Abby and wrapped an arm lovingly round her shoulders.

"Regardless, it is time for us to do what we can to help him, yes?" Ziva put out there.

"Right. So, where's Gibbs? What's he doin' about this?" Tony asked.

"He's talking to the Director, Anthony. It is also the place that young Timothy was heading as you came in." Ducky replied. "And now that you've been brought up to speed on what this is about, we are to take ourselves up there as well. Come, let's not keep them waiting. I'm sure Timothy is walking on eggshells as it is."

"Come in, Agent McGee." Vance greeted the young man as he knocked on the door. Getting the summons from the Director himself just as his teammates were joining him and Ducky in the conference room, had been unnerving to say the least. The only thing that had kept his backbone in place instead of crumbling down to his feet; was the fact that he knew Gibbs had his six on this one and had listened to him without preamble or cynicism.

"You wanted to see me, Sir?" Tim asked respectfully. He deliberately kept his eyes on Vance at all times, not wanting to look like the scared rabbit he felt like at that precise moment. Tim waited for the director to step aside slightly and gesture to one of the chairs that sat in the large office.

"Agent McGee, have a seat. It seems we have a situation on our hands. Trouble is; I'm not quite sure what to do about it. Tell us, when you first began to take this as a threat on your family, what was your first plan of action?" Vance directed him. He knew that Gibbs' team tended to play their cards close to their chest, choosing only to speak to the members of the family they had become. That was one privilege that Vance didn't hold, so felt as though he had to push for any information that Tim was willing to give.

Tim kept his gaze locked on the table in front of him, completely unable to look at Gibbs or the Director. It was tough seeing Tim like this seeing as he had been slowly coming out of his shell and over the years, had come on leaps and bounds in the confidence stakes. It seemed as though he was right back at square 1, something that neither of the two senior members around the table liked.

"Well, I checked with Ducky to ask what the chances were that it wasn't a real threat. When he said there was no way to know for sure about whether or not it was or wasn't, I just put a whole lot of hope into it not being real. It kept coming back, over and over again, every night. It's the same dream without one bit of variation in it." Tim defended himself instinctively, still refusing to look at Gibbs because he was afraid of the censure he'd find in his boss's eyes for not coming to him with this sooner. Tim knew Gibbs was still pissed about that, despite his explanation, and hoped that one day his boss would be able to forgive him.

"Okay, So, Agent McGee, what's the answer to my question?" Vance badgered.

"My first instinct….my first plan of action was that I resign. If whoever this is; is doing it because they hate NCIS agents, then I should stop being one. It's the best option, _the only option. _If that's what it takes to keep my nightmares from becoming real, Director, I don't see that I have a choice."

"That's not happenin' McGee."


	8. Chapter 7

_"That's not happenin' McGee."_

Gibbs' words sounded very much like a cross between a promise and an order and resounded through Vance's office. Tim could tell that, no matter what, his boss was not gonna let him just walk away; something a small part of him was grateful for because he finally felt as though he had an ally that would help him through whatever the hell he was going through. The other part of him though; that was a different story. That part of himself wanted to have walked away already so he could get in his car and drive to his family's home to check on them. He still sat there holding onto his plan, knowing that if it came to it, he would leave anyway. Tim sat there quietly waiting for one of his two superiors to say something, but just as the director opened his mouth, a knock on the door disrupted whatever it was he was going to say.

"Enter." Vance ordered loudly without getting up from his seat.

Looking towards the door, he wasn't surprised to find the rest of Gibbs' team arriving together. It was the one thing he liked about these people, no matter what, they were a team, friends and family; they stuck together and despite the teasing and the banter, they would do anything for each other. He cringed slightly when he saw Abby Scuito walk in behind Tony knowing that it was a possibility that complications could potentially arise unless she could keep a cool head while they figured out what they could do to deal with this situation. Her deep affection for McGee might prove to be too much to keep her objective in this case. He could only hope it wouldn't.

"Have a seat." Vance nodded in the direction of the empty chairs around the conference table.

Vance waited for Ziva, Tony, Abby and Ducky to settle into chairs and couldn't help but feel relieved when Ducky notably and quickly claimed the seat next to Tim; obviously wanting to be able to keep a close eye on him. Ziva and Abby took up seats across the table from Tim, both of them also wanting to be able to keep their eyes on him, literally. Tony mentally smiled at the protective women and thankfully, took up the empty seat on the other side of his Probie; leaving Vance and Gibbs down at the other end of the table alone. That realization brought another mental grin to Tony's mind.

"Now, that you've all had a sitrep on this situation; let's open this up for suggestions. Keep in mind I cannot authorize Protection without a genuine threat of harm. This, unfortunately, does not fit that description. Which is the only reason, I'm allowing this discussion to take place. " Vance opened things up, hoping that Tim's team would be able to provide viable solutions that even he could work by. He watched as every single person around that table seemed to phase out slightly as they thought about what could be done.

"So we need to find a way to keep Probie's family safe? Why don't we all go pay a visit?" Tony threw out as the first suggestion in less than a minute

"Because, that falls into the category of a protection detail, DiNozzo." Tony could hear the bitterness in his boss' voice as he uttered the words.

"Ok, well then how bout' me and McGee book some vacation time and take a road trip?"

Tim's head snapped up at Tony's suggestion; it wasn't that he didn't expect Tony to step up to the plate; he just didn't expect Tony to offer to go with him based on so little evidence.

"That could work, Leon; it's not protection detail and they can keep us informed."

"Nothing will be official, Gibbs; they will be taking vacation time. No, it won't work."

An ominous silence fell over the group as they became totally lost in their thoughts; each and every one of them tried to come up with ideas that would work, would help their troubled friend in a way that was plausible. Gibbs sat there and glanced towards Tim and saw raw pain and fear in those green eyes; it was that look that broke his heart. As he looked more closely, he could see that his agent was more upset than he'd let on. Something else was going on with him; something he hadn't let on about. Then again, this was McGee; so that shouldn't be a surprise.

"McGee. You all right?" Gibbs saw Ducky's head swing round to his young charge.

"Yeah, Boss, I'm just…." He was at a loss for words. He wasn't fine and his boss knew that but he still felt as though he had to say he was. He glanced down at his hands and shook his head slightly knowing that it was futile and everyone around the table could pretty much read him like a book. He tried to muster up some inner strength and turned towards the director.

"Director Vance. If I can't tender my resignation can I at least take some time to visit my family? I need to…I have to know they're ok."

"That, I can do, Agent McGee. Gibbs, why don't you accompany Tim in an official capacity. Make sure you write it up as part of your current investigation but remember, if you're going to lie, then make sure you can back it up."

"That's not going to be easy, Leon."

"No, it's not. But right now, that's the solution I have and unless you can come up with something better, then I suggest you take this opportunity."

"Ok. McGee, you let me know when you are ready to leave. I've got some loose ends to tie up but I only need an hour." Tim nodded as everyone around the table started to discuss the plan of action. As he sat there listening, he felt his mind drift slowly from the conversation.

Gibbs had noticed how quiet and withdrawn Tim had become after the initial plan was outlined and had stayed through the ensuing discussion. It worried him. If anything, he doubted Tim had even heard anymore of the discussions that occurred and recognized the faraway look instantly for what it was. It was clear that there definitely was something new bothering his agent and he had to know what. They stayed in the office a while later and Gibbs made the decision that Tim needed to eat before they started their journey. While the others have gone on a late night food run, he decided to try to get Tim to open up.

"Tim. Talk to me. What is it you're not tellin' me?" He watched the emotions flicker over the young man's face and waited patiently for Tim to answer.

Tim didn't answer though; he didn't want to say the words for fear that what he had to say would mean he'd been right all along.

"Tim?"

Gibbs frowned at the headshake and watched as Tim's hunched form moved towards the large window to gaze out over the yard. He took in his agent's stiff posture and couldn't help but think that the poor kid was simply too petrified to answer him; too afraid to even speak the words that he knew Tim needed to say.

Sighing heavily, Gibbs followed him to the window and paused briefly before placing a comforting hand on Tim's shoulder. It was a small gesture but one that would hopefully let Tim know that he wasn't alone. He hoped that his show of silent support would help his troubled agent become comfortable with the idea of talking to him and after a long silent few minutes, it hit Gibbs; he hadn't asked how Tim's phone call to his parents went.

He mentally kicked himself and couldn't help the wave of unease and fear that twisted in his gut. Suddenly, Tim's current demeanor and unwillingness to voice the problem made perfect sense. As bad as whatever the young man might have to say; it did have to be said, however, and that meant, Gibbs had to ask.

"Tim, did you talk to your folks earlier?"

The change in Tim's body language was instantaneous; heartbreaking and palpable. Any strength that Tim seemed to be holding onto visibly slipped away with that one question leaving Gibbs feeling more protective over him than ever. Tim didn't verbalize the answer, he didn't need too because everything Gibbs needed to know, was in that flood of emotion that just ran through Tim McGee's eyes, no matter how desperately he tried to remain calm and strong. Reaching out his other hand, Gibbs gripped Tim's arm gently but with just enough pressure as he encouraged him to turn and look at him.

"Tim?"

Tim shakes his head in a silent 'no'.

"Tell me what happened." The boss softly encouraged.

"All three of their phones went straight to voicemail. I need to go now. I need to figure out where they are." The fear was now radiating off of the young man and it was clear he was putting two and two together. Co-incidence didn't even factor into the equation; marking this as one time Gibbs genuinely wished that the little co-incidences really did happen. Tim suddenly felt the urge to actually do something. He had agreed to wait until they had eaten until they left, but now? No, he had to do something now! He had to know what had happened and mentally kicked himself for allowing himself to get mired down in the emotions instead of using them to spur him toward action.

"Go use the resources available here, Agent McGee." Vance suggested from directly behind Gibbs, neither man knew he was there and started slightly at his loud voice. The Team Leader stopped himself from glaring at the man, who, while invading a private conversation that had been meant to build trust between his agent and himself; had also given his agent a strong enough directive that it would undoubtedly encourage Tim to stay at least long enough to get the team's help rather than the two of them going it alone.

Tim nodded his head at the suggestion that he knew darn well was an order; and left the area by the window to head towards his desk. His steps were slow as his mind fought to find the self-discipline to do what had to be done. After all, he couldn't very well tell Vance or even Gibbs that he was petrified of running the search for his family himself; the possibility of what he would find, not being good; was almost choking off his ability to breathe. They need to see strength from him and nothing short of that would do; although Tim wasn't sure why it even mattered if he was leaving anyway. Exhaustion had taken its' toll on both his body and his mind and he'd forgotten that while trying to keep up with every thought that was now running rampant through his mind.

He felt the fear twist again at the prospect that he now wasn't going to go to his family to protect them; no, he was going to run searches to see whether or not they were still all right. That small bit of knowledge was killing him; not that he'd ever show it in front of his boss.

What Tim failed to realize was that Gibbs truly did read him better than Tim credited him for. The Team Leader knew that Tim was deeply afraid of what he'd find; simply because the nightmares had the entire week to drive deep into Tim's mind; the tendrils of fear. The possibility of its' reality were slowly killing his agent on the inside, that much was clearly evident. Not already being on the road to their house wasn't helping him either. Of the few things about his youngest agent that had not changed; his inability to completely hide how he felt had become the most helpful tool, especially at times like this. Even as Vance watched, Gibbs ignored the Director; his only concern was for his agent, who, even as he was still trying to leave the team and the agency; was trying to do so while holding up the world on his own shoulders.

Gibbs drew in a breath of relief when Tony and the girls returned with the late night snacks and drinks. He saw Ducky reappear from somewhere and Gibbs couldn't help but wonder where he had gone seeing as his disappearance remained a mystery to everyone. As he re-entered the squad room, the M.E. immediately looked for and located Tim. As soon as his eyes locked onto his young friend, he could tell the young man had had enough and that there was no more that he could do for himself or for anyone else, without proper rest. Food would help, but Ducky was doubtful that the Tim would even attempt to eat. It was well known among them that eating is something Timothy cannot do when he is as upset as he was now.

Before he could speak his peace on the matter, Gibbs jumped in first.

"McGee. Go with Ducky."

Tim silently looked at his boss for a half-minute before nodding his concession to what he'd been told to do. As he stood up, his equilibrium disappeared; leaving him grasping onto the edge of the desk until the world stopped lilting around him. The actions didn't escape anyone's notice, they did, however, raise everyone's concern for him. As he silently followed a concerned Ducky out of the squad room, Gibbs immediately turned his eyes to his remaining team members; knowing they would have much to say. True to form, Tony's the first one to live up to Gibbs' expectations on that front.

"Boss? He all right?"

"He will be. As soon as he gets some rest. Neither his parents or his sister are answering their phones. All he's getting is their voicemail. We need to locate them, now." Gibbs summed everything up in one fell swoop and the team was soon bustling around their desks to put the searches into action. Gibbs was still standing in the middle of the squad room looking pointedly to Vance; almost daring him to stop his team from doing this.

Abby ran to Tim's chair and sat down heavily to do her bit, her face was a portrait of worry and determination, the emotions blended together which made her look almost manic in her attempt to help; it was all for her Timmy and she would do whatever it took to help him. Her quietness as she undertook her duties, was testimony to how upset she knew Tim was. That upset her in turn and made her feel as though she wanted to do nothing more than wrap him in her arms and make his pain go away. The squad room was a hive of activity as Ziva and Tony ended all attempts at talking or asking questions and got busy searching for whatever information they could find on where Tim's family could be.

With a nod and small look of appreciation for his team, Gibbs walked back over to Vance with a silent question in his eyes. Did Vance have a problem with this? Not that it mattered, but it would sure make things more difficult for them if he did fight it.

"Let me know what you come up with." Was Vance's only reply as he headed back to his office leaving the team working frantically.

The fact that Vance said very little in the last thirty minutes was telling and left Gibbs feeling as though the man was more in tune with the depth of the concern that was suddenly climbing within his team for Tim. None of them wanted the young man to leave NCIS; but even more importantly, none of them wanted him to be right about this. Every one of them were hoping and praying that the McGee family was safe and sound.

Every one of them felt it in their gut; that they weren't.

The activity in the squad room was almost frenetic as everyone busied themselves with the searches and phone calls that would hopefully provide some answer as to exactly what had happened to Tim's parents and sister. They had been at it for almost an hour when Gibbs glanced down at his watch and sighed at the time; it was getting later, there was no doubt about that! What worried him more, was the fact that Tim hadn't returned from Autopsy yet. He picked up his phone and waited patiently as it rang.

"_Autopsy." _Jimmy Palmers voice rang clearly on the other end of the phone.

"Palmer. Is McGee still down there with Duck?"

"_Er…Yeah Agent Gibbs, I think they're in Dr Mallard's office."_ Gibbs stayed silent knowing Jimmy would soon catch up _"Oh…you want me to get them!"_ There it was, that little moment of realization that was bound to hit.

"Ya think Palmer? Get Ducky, Leave McGee where he is for the time being."

Gibbs heard some shuffling on the line and was starting to get slightly antsy at the seemingly long wait he had to endure. In what seemed like hours, Ducky finally picked up the phone.

"_Ah Jethro. We were just about to make our way back up to you."_

"Duck, how's he doing?" Gibbs had grown more and more concerned over Tim's welfare as the hour drew on. In all fairness, he was only expecting Ducky to do the basic exam to determine whether or not Tim was actually fit to be here; needless to say he hadn't been expecting an hour long episode, and that made him worry.

"_The boy's both physically and mentally exhausted, Jethro. His blood pressure is high and his blood sugar levels leave a lot to be desired. I've settled him in my office with a cup of sweet tea but without the rest he needs, it'll be a futile attempt. He simply can't go on like this."_ Gibbs felt his gut clench at the statement knowing that if Tim was feeling half as bad as he looked, then he really was a hairs breath away from total collapse.

"What can we do? You know he won't go home and rest knowing his parent's are unreachable. These damn nightmares have really knocked him for a loop and as it stands he's thinking of the worst case scenario." He had to ask the question because deep down he knew there was something they could do to help Tim rest easier. At best, it was a case of he could take Tim home with him to enforce at least 8 hours of bed rest; at worst, he would hospitalize his agent and have him sedated so that he could sleep whilst the team frantically worked on finding his family.

"_I believe he needs to go and see his family Jethro. I took the opportunity to speak to Timothy and there is no way on earth, he will rest at the moment. Maybe you and he could still take that journey together. The drive might sooth him enough to relax; albeit a temporary measure."_

"Tony, Ziva and Abbs have everything in hand this end. Can you bring him up here? I'll let everyone know and will get my gear ready." Gibbs started to make a mental inventory of what would be needed for the long journey ahead of them. He knew Tim wouldn't want much so glanced over towards Abby and snapped his fingers. When he had her attention, he started to sign.

**ASL ****- ****_Abby. Need you to grab a few things for me. Pillow in bottom drawer of filing cabinet; see whether you can rally up a blanket from somewhere. Go to break room and get some snacks and coke. Ring down to garage and ask one of the guys to check the pressure in my tires and use your charm to get one of them to gas her up.** _He tossed Abby the keys to his car and watched her sign _'On it, Boss' _before leaving to run her errands.He hated asking this of her, but at this point in time, he needed Tony and Ziva to keep doing what they were doing; knowing he had the best team for the job. He turned his attention back to his phone and listened as Ducky relayed the information to Tim.

"_Of course, Jethro, we'll be up soon. He's just drinking his second cup but as soon as he's done I'll escort him to you."_

"Thanks, Duck. I appreciate it." With that, Gibbs hung up and turned towards Tony and Ziva to update them on the situation.

"DiNozzo; David; I need you both to keep plugging at the searches. I know it's late but….."

"Doesn't matter how late it is, Boss. This is Probie we're talkin' about so we'll do what has to be done." Tony jumped in quickly knowing what his boss was going to say. There was no way in hell he was going to go home and sleep anyway; not after seeing Tim looking so scared and exhausted.

"I will not be going home either, Gibbs. McGee needs our help so I will stay as long as is needed."

Gibbs looked at both his agents and felt sheer pride swell in him. What they was doing was completely selfless and given the circumstances surrounding the situation, he was glad to have both of the on his team.

"Alright. I appreciate that; but DON'T get too tired. If you need to rest, then rest. Is that clear?"

He smiled ruefully at the collective 'crystal' that came from his two agents and turned when he heard the elevator's ding. His concern for Tim exacerbated at the sight of his disheveled agent stepping off the elevator; that in itself was bad enough, but the sight of Ducky having to steady Tim when he started to list to the side un-nerved him to the point he rushed over and guided Tim into a chair.

"Hey, McGee. You alright?" He waited for Tim to finally track him before reaching over and placing his hand on the younger man's shoulder.

"Yeah, Boss. Just…I….I'm okay. Any luck?" The stammering was never a good sign where Tim was concerned and Gibbs knew that whilst a few years ago it would have been normal, recent years had shown it to be a sign of poor health, sheer exhaustion or trauma.

"Nothing yet Probilicious, but me and Zeevah are not going anywhere until we find something." Tony had somehow managed to sneak up behind Gibbs without the older agent knowing about it.

"Thanks, Tony. Boss, when do we leave?" Tim offered Tony a rueful smile that didn't reach his dull, red rimmed eyes.

"I'm just waiting for Abby and then we'll be on the road. You think you could eat Tim? Tony and Ziva picked you up a sandwich when they got food."

"No. Sorry, Boss, I'm just not hungry." Gibbs nodded but grabbed the sandwich Tony handed him anyway.

"You're gonna try, McGee. That's an order and we leave as soon as Abby gets back."

"I'm here, Gibbs and I've got the stuff you wanted. The guys in the garage owed me one so I pulled in favor. Your tire pressure's good, they've checked the oil and windshield washer fluid, too. You're fully gassed up, too. I've got enough munchies here to last a while so you're good to go." She dumped the bag she was carrying on the floor and rummaged around until she found a can of coke. "Hey Timmy, here you go."

"Thanks Abbs. You alright?" Tim had noticed the nervous energy and tentative steps towards him.

"I'm ok, Timmy but you don't look so hot. Is there anything I can do? Anything I can get you?"

"I'm good. Thanks. Hey, come here." He waited for Abby to reach him and pulled her into an embrace. To everyone else it looked as though he was offering her comfort in an effort to show her he was okay; that in itself would usually serve to calm Abby down. It wasn't the case this time, though. Whilst half of his actions were do with just that, the other half was for himself and as he held on to her warm, comforting body he felt some of the tension melt away as her soothing aura surrounded him.

"It's going to be all right, Timmy, I promise." He nodded into her shoulder and pulled away to look over at Gibbs.

"Can we go, Boss? I….."

"Yeah, Tim. Come on." He grabbed his gear and hooked his hand around the bag that Tim had just picked up from his desk. "Hey, you three have done good; I'm proud of you all. We'll call when we get there."

With that, Gibbs kept a steadying hand in the small of Tim's back as they walked to the elevator.

Thirty agonizing minutes later saw Gibbs driving down the freeway to the town that the McGee's lived. The whole journey would take a few hours and he knew that by the time they got there, it would be incredibly early in the morning. Glancing over at his ailing agent, he was pleased to see Tim already fast asleep with his head resting comfortable on the pillow that rested against the window.

He pulled over briefly to grab the blanket off the backseat and draped it over Tim with a sense of relief that his boy's exhaustion had finally won over his emotional turmoil leaving his body with no option but to crash. At least Tim would get the sleep he so desperately needed, though Gibbs drove in complete silence anyway because he was determined to hear Tim if his torrid nightmares returned. Brushing the hair away from Tim's forehead, he tucked the corner of the blanket back round the shoulder where it slipped off.

"Sleep well, Son. We'll get everything sorted out for you."

With that sentiment, Gibbs fastened his seatbelt and pulled away from the side of the road. No matter what, he was going to help his youngest boy. Gibbs knew, that whatever the outcome; Tim would never be alone.


	9. Chapter 8

Gibbs slowly pulled into the driveway of Tim's childhood home a good 3 hours later and parked. He scrubbed a hand across his face, feeling more than a little bone-weary after the long drive but knew that the tiredness he felt was nothing in comparison to how Tim had to be feeling at the moment. Glancing over to his still slumbering agent, he was actually relieved that Tim had slept soundly during the entire journey without even so much as a twitch or a murmur. For that he was grateful because the kid's body and his mind had certainly needed it after the last seven nights of debilitating nightmares he'd been plagued with. It struck him that despite the dark circles and the exhaustion that followed Tim recently, his agent still looked young and vulnerable in sleep.

He tore his eyes away from his agent and looked out at the darkened street and neighboring houses, his years as a marine kicked in and he was instantly on guard, using his sharp eyes to pinpoint anything that could possibly be out of sorts. His eyes finally swept over to the immense yard after seeing nothing untoward out in the quiet avenue. He couldn't help but be in awe of size of the piece of land on which the house stood.

It was so large that the front door to the house wasn't even visible from where he they were parked. The fact that he had a serious blind spot sent a shiver of unease creep slowly up his spine. He was thankful Leon had called the local LEO's ahead of time because sure enough, before he'd been parked for even a full two minutes, a local sheriff's car rolled up quietly behind him and parked on the street.

As both policemen got out of their cars, Gibbs quietly did the same wielding his badge and id in his hand, ready for the obligatory introductions that were necessity with cross agency relations. This was one time, he was happy for the backup so he wanted to make sure they got off on the right foot with each other. After all, he had not only Tim to worry about, but the young man's family as well, here.

"Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS and sleeping beauty in the car is Special Agent Timothy McGee. Thanks for coming out, we appreciate it." Gibbs held out his right arm and shook hands with the uniformed officers; after all, what harm could a little courtesy do at this stage in the game? One of the officers pulled out his flashlight and shone it on Gibbs id to confirm Gibbs' claims. Once he was satisfied he nodded once and reciprocated the introductions.

"Agent Gibbs. I'm Officer Jenkins and this here is my partner, Officer Rogers. We're glad to be of assistance. So how can we help?"

Gibbs soon had both officers up to date with the situation including Tim's part in it all, thankfully the officers were both veterans of their police force; having each served 10 years on it, and were more than sympathetic to what they had been told.

"Damn, is Tim all right Agent Gibbs? I'm married to his cousin Anna and I've gotta tell you, they're good people and Tim has always done his best to make sure everyone is taken care of."Officer Jenkins looked shaken by the sheer magnitude of what his cousin –in-law had been through and started to make his way towards the car.

"No,! Let him be for a couple a minutes. He's been to hell and back all week and needs any bit of rest he can get." Gibbs halted the officer's path to the car and waited for him to come back to where they were standing.

"Sorry, it's just…well, it's Tim, you know. He's always so polite and loving towards everyone. He even set a trust fund up for my daughter when he found out Anna was expecting."

"Sounds like McGee. You heard from his parents recently?" Gibbs seized the opportunity to get some background to the McGee's recent activites; hopeful that this relative would have more for them to go on than what Tim had managed to find out.

"Sure. Anna spoke to them a couple of days ago; they asked us over for dinner this coming weekend." Gibbs felt a sense of relief wash over him; at least they had been there recently.

"You heard from them since?"

"No, Sir. We don't speak to Jacob and Angela on a daily basis so it's not unusual."

"Happen to remember exactly what day it was that your wife spoke to them?

"Day before yesterday."

"What time?

"She told me that it was close to dinner, which would have put it between 5 and 6 that night."

"Ok. We're gonna go up to the house but I don't want the McGee's spooked if they're there." Gibbs waited for both Officers to give him the affirmation he needed and walked over to the car.

Gibbs wasn't surprised to find one of the officers was related, even through marriage, and felt nothing but pride at Jenkins' praise for his agent. Once he reached the car, he paused slightly and tried to force down the regret at having to reluctantly force Tim to wake up because no matter what; he couldn't just leave him in the car; especially when his gut was churning dangerously and Tim's had been doing a hell of a lot more than that all week. Gibbs got back in and reached over so he could place a pressured hand on the young man's arm and started calling to him.

"C'mon, McGee. We're here."

When Tim failed to even stir, Gibbs felt badly for what he was about to do but he still had to wake him up, regardless. Closing his car door, he fell back on the reliable method of call Tim to attention.

"McGee! Snap to it!"

Tim's eyes snapped open and his breath hitched harshly as fear quickly set in. Gibbs didn't waste any time in jumping in and calming him down.

"Hey McGee, Relax." When Tim's breath caught once again in his throat, Gibbs started to seriously worry and stepped up a gear in his ministrations "Tim, Your okay. Look at me, McGee!"

Blinking owlishly, Tim wiped his hand over his weary, sleep blurred eyes and had to blink several times again before his vision finally cleared. It was obvious that he was confused and disorientated and Gibbs decided that the best course of action was to let him come back to his senses on his own before pushing. With a confused frown, Tim looked around as if trying to figure out where he was and why he was there; Gibbs understood that all too well, knowing that waking up in a strange room could be bad enough, but waking up in a car? Tim's gaze soon found Gibbs watching him with a touch of concern in his eyes.

"Boss?" Tim's voice was chock full of confusion, fear and worry.

"We're here. You all right?" Gibbs made sure his voice held an equal dose of strength and concern.

"Here?" Tim closed his eyes and thought for a second_. Here? Where? Oh, God! His parent's house!_ His eyes snapped open and he found himself peering out the window at his parent's darkened house. The complete lack of outside light was totally unnerving and made him feel edgy. _No! This wasn't right! His parents ALWAYS left a light on. The small one on the porch was just enough to see if someone was prowling around the yard and it was never off! But there was nothing!_

Tim's stomach plummeted and he suddenly felt the nausea rise and the bile burning the back of his throat.

"Oh, my God!" he said with abject misery and conviction that what he was seeing meant something was horribly wrong with his family. It was that knowledge and fear that threatened to push Tim completely over the edge.

"Talk to me!" Gibbs firm voice demanded; he hated bearing witness to Tim's panic as it started to grip his Agent with an alarming degree of severity. It was obvious that something was off and it was that something that knocked Tim for a complete loop.

"Boss, Mom _always_ leaves a small outside light on. _Always!_ This isn't right!" Tim quietly said with fear and panic crawling into his voice. "The yard is NEVER this dark!" Gibbs reached over and grasped Tim's shaking arm once again. If anything, he needed to ground Tim enough so that they could find out what had happened.

"All right, Tim. Let's just take this slow and easy. We've got two local LEO's out here to help. Your cousin's husband is one of them."

Tim seemed to relax a bit at that piece of news. "Jim's here?" he asked with an obvious twinge of hope.

"Yeah, they're waiting for us, c'mon." Gibbs answered as he nodded toward the patrol car at the curb.

"Okay." Tim said quietly as he shook the blanket off his shoulders and reached back to set it on the backseat. He paused before opening the door and glanced up at the house; He felt himself starting to phase out and pulled himself back to the present before stepping out of the car.

"Hey, Tim. How are you?" Jim Jenkins asked as he shook Tim's hand solemnly. "I heard what this is about and I'm sorry, man. I know I'm not real close to your parents but I haven't heard of any problems with them or your sister; In fact, we were supposed to have dinner with them this weekend."

"Hi Jim. I don't suppose you would have heard anything, this wouldn't have been something you'd a heard on your scanners…" Tim's voice cracked slightly at the thought that swept through his mind "Unless you happened to find them."

Tim stopped, swallowed hard and looked away feeling uncomfortable at losing the grip on his emotions in front of everyone. Taking out his flashlight, he let his feet pound the driveway as he led the way towards his parents' house with sheer determination. He was just digging out his key to the front door when Gibbs voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"McGee!" Tim turned and could see that Gibbs had snapped to attention at his impulsive actions.

"Boss?" Tim felt confused, wasn't this the reason they had come here tonight?

"Get back here and get a damn vest on, NOW!" Gibbs barked out as quietly as he could, unwilling to announce their presence or let Tim walk into a potential situation unprotected. He had already managed to put his vest on and the two LEO's were walking to their vehicle to grab their vests so they would be protected as well.

Tim quickly returned to the car and took his vest from Gibbs. Once his Jacket had been shrugged off, he made quick work of putting it on and slipping his jacket back on over it.

"Thanks, Boss." He offered quietly, his nerves too churned up to do better.

"Be careful." Gibbs warned as he placed his hand in the small of his agent's back and gently guided him to the house. The use of Tim's given name made the younger agent feel strangely secure in the knowledge that Gibbs had his back; the fact that the senior agent refused to be more than 1 step behind him as they walked up the driveway to the house helped too, because no matter what, Gibbs wouldn't let him down.

When the door became visible; Tim froze mid-stride and his heart stuttered momentarily at the sight that lay before him. _This was wrong! His parents' front door was NEVER wide open like this; not even when they were home in the middle of the day!_

The total wrongness of the picture staring them in the face wasn't lost on the other law enforcement officers either and Tim heard Jim suck in a huge breath before both officers took the lead. Gibbs fought the urge to tuck Tim up under his arm and hide him away from whatever it was they were walking into knowing damn well that his agent had to do this. Instead, he offered up a silent prayer that it wasn't the manifestation of Tim's nightmare come to life and wanted nothing more than for the young man's family to be safe and sound; both for their sake and for Tim's.

It took every ounce of strength Tim had to keep going as his knees threatened to buckle with every step he took towards that open door. He knew he had to keep moving forward and tried to concentrate on just being able to keep his heart beating by regulating his breathing; He was giving it everything he had, something that was helped along by the rush of adrenalin that coursed through his veins. He had Gibbs at his back holding a supportive hand on him at all times; never letting him go; obviously trying to be that pillar of strength that kept him grounded as much as possible under the circumstances. Thankfully, he could feel the strength his boss was exuding and tried to take as much of it as the man was trying hard to lend him. It was somehow working; until they got inside that is. The four of them were somewhat prepared and held their weapons in front of them as they cautiously entered the large house; Nothing could have prepared them for what awaited them inside.

Gibbs split up from the LEO's, but kept Tim close by as they swept the rooms downstairs. Surprisingly, every room looked neat and tidy…._unlived in. _He felt his heart lighten slightly at the calls of '_Clear' _that began to travel down to them from the officers painstakingly making their way through every room upstairs and finally felt secure enough to holster his weapon before turning to Tim.

"McGee, does everything look okay to you?" His gut was telling him something was off and the look on Tim's face compounded that feeling to an almost painful level. Tim was standing there looking dazed and confused as he took in his surroundings_. Oh yeah, there was something definitely not right with this situation._

"Boss. It's wrong; all wrong!" Tim's voice was barely audible, yet the desperation and fear rang out loud and clear.

"What is McGee?" Gibbs asked cautiously but with a deliberate edge of calm in an attempt to calm his Agent's obvious rising fear.

"It looks as though they were never here!. It's too clinical." Tim moved to the sideboard in the living room and placed his hand on top.

"The photographs are missing! Mom likes her photos and they're all gone. Boss, where are they?" Gibbs felt his heart tug at the emotionally loaded question.

"I don't know. How many are gone? Can you remember what they were?"

"Mom always has pictures of Sarah and I right here; pictures from when we were born on up through our biggest achievements and moments; even ones as recent as a month ago! Too many to count"

Gibbs automatically knew exactly where Tim got his values and sentimentality from and sighed heavily as he visualized the pictures sitting there proudly.

"Can they be anywhere else, Tim?" _Maybe, just maybe Tim's mother had moved them since Tim had been home last_.

"They've been here for as long as I remember so I doubt it." Tim answered in an unsteady voice as he moved away from the sideboard and walked further into the living room. Gibbs saw his agent's arms drop to his side and he watched with some kind of sick fascination as the weapon his young agent had been carrying, dropped to the floor with a jarring clatter.

"Tim, what is it?" Gibbs approached Tim carefully and laid a hand on his shoulder "Come on, talk to me."

Tim was frozen to the spot as his gaze fixated on the coffee table. Sitting there, in the middle of the small table was a laptop with a webcam attached. A message on the screen that addressed Tim directly and made Gibbs' blood run cold.

_FAO: Timothy McGee_

_Enjoy the movie_

As Gibbs made his way over, the laptop sprung to life and the screen filled with images that threatened to tip the world as they knew it completely off its axis.

The video now playing in front of them panned over three figures that were tied to chairs; three figures that Tim recognized instantly.

**"Oh God! NO!"**


	10. Chapter 9

Tim was rooted to the spot and no matter how much he wanted to look away from the torturous scene in front of him, he couldn't. He was frozen in shock and the only thing he could do was watch his bound and gagged family as fear clouded their eyes. He could almost physically feel the bindings cutting into his own wrist and every time one of them struggled he felt his muscles contract with their effort. That wasn't the worst part though; it was his heart he felt the most as it stuttered and stopped momentarily before dropping to his feet like a rock.

Every emotion was sharp as they marched through his mind before being shrouded behind the numb fog that left him feeling cold and as though he was drowning in ice water. Every wave of emotion that broke free from the fog crashed through him and sent a tidal wave of guilt with them. His world would never be the same again.

All of a sudden the image of his Mom, Dad and sister zoomed in so the screen was totally focused on his father; the man that bought him up and protected him with the love and support that naturally accompanied the role.

"McGee?" Gibbs kept his voice as steady as possible as he laid a supportive hand on his agents arm to try and pull him out of his near catatonic, shocked state. He couldn't stand the fact that his agent was having to watch his family in that situation and wanted nothing more than to scoop him up and hide him under his wing.

"Hey McGee! Look at me!" The senior Agent deliberately raised his voice with the authority he needed to get through to the young man.

"My family. Boss, someone has my family." Tim's anguished whisper rang loudly through the quiet room "Why is he doing this? Why?"

"I don't kn…" Gibbs was cut dead mid sentence by a menacing voice coming through the speakers on the laptop.

"_Agent McGee! So glad you could join the party. Now what do you think of my guests? I've tried to keep them as comfortable as I can but I'm afraid the accommodation isn't to their liking."_

"**Who are you? What the hell do you want?"** Gibbs couldn't help the barked statement and felt his gut clench as he realized he could have made a grave mistake.

"_Ah and you must be Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs! It's good to finally meet you."_

"Boss…."Tim was shaking so hard that Gibbs thought the kid was going to fly apart at any moment.

"_I understand that this is a little bit of a shock but for now they are safe."_

"**For** **now? What the hell does that mean? What are you going to do with them and why?"** Tim's fear soon gave way to anger at the sight before him. The camera had panned back out and whilst his father was still the focal point in the picture, he could now see the two women he loved more than life itself.

"_And this pretty little thing; she's a beauty isn't she. I'm sure I could have no end of fun with her."_

"**NO! LEAVE HER ALONE DAMN IT!"** That was it; the straw that finally broke the camel's back and Tim let out a shout of pure fury.

"_Let me get one thing straight! I call the shots! Now why don't you reel that temper in Agent McGee!"_There was some shuffling off screen and Tim watched with horror as a baseball bat swung into the shot and cracked down with a sickening '_thwack'_on his father's left knee and his father's cry of pain tore through Tim's heart, ripping it to pieces.

The video feed cut dead leaving Tim standing there in total shock at his vivid nightmare come to life right before his very eyes. He felt the bile rise in this throat and his knees buckled. If it wasn't for Gibbs' quick reflexes, he would collapsed on the floor in a heap as his stomach revolted against the agonizing, predicament his week long silence had obviously landed his family in; the vivid imagery would forever be branded into his mind.

Gibbs turned his head away from Tim and whistled towards the door. He knew the other officers were still upstairs but knew they would come running when signaled. He heard scurrying above him briefly before two sets of heavy footsteps ran down the stairs.

"Agent Gibbs! Is everything all right?" Jim ran into the room with his gun cocked ready to deal with whatever he had been summoned for. He glanced down at the silver haired man and his cousin-in-law and gripped the handle of his gun harder at the sight before him.

"Stand down." Gibbs answered back quickly knowing Jim would want to protect Tim. There was no protection needed right now though so he glared at the two officers until both weapons were fully holstered.

Jim swept his eyes across the room before finally making his way over to Tim and dropping to his knees directly in front of him.

"Tim, you okay?" When he received no answer he glanced up at Gibbs with a worried frown on his face.

"I'll get you up to speed later. Right now, I need you to call it in and get my team here ASAP. Tell them we're going to need Dr Mallard, as well. Make sure you tell them Dr. Mallard's patient on this one is alive." Gibbs tossed him his phone and turned his attention back to Tim "Come on, Son. Let's get you up on your feet."

"Boss? My dad. My…What if he really hurts them?" Tim's heartbroken question hung in the air, giving them all an idea that the young man wasn't listening to them.

"We'll find them before then, McGee. That's it. Atta boy." Gibbs slipped his arm behind Tim and helped him stand up; frowning when he felt tremors wracking the slender frame. He heard Jim talking to the other officer before calling Tony and guided Tim over to the couch where he sat there quietly with his head hung as his body started to shake more violently.

"Aw, McGee. Hey!" He pointed to Officer Rogers "Get me a blanket and a sweet drink if there is one. If not make a mug of hot tea with a lot of sugar."

"You got it. He goin' into shock?" Rogers looked over at the pale shaking man with a look of sympathy plastered on his face.

"Agent Gibbs. Your team's on their way in." Once Jim got a good look at Tim he moved to the couch and sank down beside him "Come here." Jim wrapped his arm around his cousin-in-law's shoulders and pulled him into a hug. Gibbs couldn't help but feel relieved that Tim at least had one member of his family around him.

"Thanks. Officer Jenkins…."

"Jim. I've never been one for formalities." Gibbs offered a small smile and looked over towards the laptop. "Can you stay with him for a while? I wanna make a phone call so I can arrange to get this laptop looked at."

"Sure. Go, I've got him."

Gibbs stood and made his way out the front door. Pulling out his phone, he dialed Ducky's number and waited for his friend to answer the phone.

"Dr. Mallard." Ducky sounded out of breath.

"Duck, We've got a problem."

Tony, Ziva and Ducky arrived at the house 2 hours later. Gibbs couldn't help but notice how shaken up both his old friend and senior field agent looked.

"Hey, Boss. Ziva drove and damn, I think she broke every speed limit and traffic law goin' to get here." He felt a sharp sting on the back of his head and yelped when Ziva's hand connected.

"It got us here quicker, no?" Ziva defended herself.

"Yeah, but I think you nearly gave me and Ducky a heart attack in the process." Tony was about to carry on with his argument when Ducky jogged over from the car carrying his bag.

"Anthony! Not now! Jethro, where is Timothy? Have you had him looked at?" Ducky's face was kind and concerned and Gibbs could tell he was itching to get to his young patient.

"Yeah, but he didn't want to go to the hospital, Duck."

"They wanted to take him and he refused? Why didn't the dear boy go?"

"I'll explain later but for now I need to you stay with him and make sure he's gonna be all right." Gibbs had told Ducky about the video feed but that was about it. After getting off the phone to the M.E. a couple of hours ago, the feed had kicked in again.

_Two hours ago…_

"_Yeah Duck. Got it."_

"_Oh and Jethro…." Gibbs' attention was stolen away from Ducky when an alarmed shout rang through the house._

"_Gotta go, Duck." He slammed the phone shut and ran in to see what the commotion was about._

_Tim had moved from the couch and was now sitting in front of the laptop screen with tears streaming down his face. Jim sat to the side of him with his hand planted firmly in the small of his agents back to offer support. Gibbs moved to the other side of him and placed a supporting hand on his shoulder as he watched the new feed with sickening horror; Tim's family had all been beaten with different levels of severity. It was the boy's father who came out worse, having obviously been beaten badly with the bat. Sarah was sobbing into her gag and Gibbs could see the beginnings of a black eye starting to form. It was Tim's mother that broke his heart though; she sat there with her blouse ripped open and he could see fresh bruising adorning her toned body._

"_What do you want?" Tim's whispered plea to the guy that was causing his family pain was barely audible._

"_What was that, Agent McGee? I didn't quite hear what you were saying." The menacing voice rang through with a clarity and volume that shocked them all._

"**_He said, what do you want?"_**_Gibbs couldn't help but jump right in there as he pulled Tim into his arms for support._

"_Now that's simple. Tim, I want you!"_

Present time…

Tim watched everyone move around him and soon drifted off into a world of his own. He hadn't even noticed Ducky approaching him.

"Timothy." Ducky called Tim softly so as not to startle him. The M.E. took the opportunity to look Tim over and frowned at the pale, clammy face "Timothy. Come on young man; you can do better than that. Timothy, are you with me?"

Tim finally managed to bring himself found and stared with unseeing eyes at Ducky. It took a moment before Tim fully saw Ducky.

"Ducky? What….."

"Jethro asked me here so I could help. How are you feeling?" Ducky reached over and grasped Tim's hand in his own.

"Numb. I don't know….I can't…what do I do? Did I do this? Is this because I didn't say anything?" Tim finally released the tidal wave of emotions that rolled over him and started to shake uncontrollably. Ducky reached down and picked up the discarded blanket and draped it over his young friend.

"Oh Timothy. Don't you think it would have been prudent to go to the hospital? You are in shock my friend."

"Duck?" Gibbs walked in and watched as Ducky pulled the blanket up over Tim "He all right?"

"No Jethro, he's in deep shock and already beginning to feel responsible as well. He should be under observation; Not here in the midst of everything."

"I know; which is why Tony's gonna drive McGee to my place. I want you to go with him so you can keep an eye on him."

"I'm not leaving!" Tim's voice rose at the conversation that they two men were having. "I need to be here!"

"McGee! You are going back to my place with Tony and Duck. Listen to me, Son; there's nothing you can do here so don't fight me on this. ok?" Gibbs authoritative tone drew Tim back to reality and he gave a small nod of assent before drawing back inside himself. The nod wasn't heartfelt and Gibbs just knew his young agent would fight him despite everything that had been said. He felt someone tap his shoulder and turned to see Jim standing behind him holding another mug of hot tea. Stepping aside, Gibbs let Tim's cousin-in-law kneel in front of his agent.

"Hey Tim. I want you to go on home and get some rest, we'll bring them home. Drink this and we'll get your car bought up to the front door. By the time you finish your tea the car will be waiting."

"Too far, Jim." Tim's cryptic message left everyone frowning with confusion.

"What do you mean Timothy? I'm afraid I don't understand." Ducky jumped in to try to draw the answers out of his young friend.

"I'm too far away. I need to be here." Jim grasped Tim's hand briefly and pressed the mug into his palm.

"It's not that far so drink up because you need to get some rest and that aint gonna happen here. Don't make me call Anna!" Jim tried to instill some humor hoping it would help get Tim to go home and rest. The threat of the big guns usually worked with Tim and Gibbs knew that the kid was in safe hands and by the time they were ready to leave Tim would go without argument.

"Duck?" Gibbs flicked his head to the side and walked out into the kitchen. It didn't take long for Ducky to follow. "He up to traveling?" The concern in Gibbs' question was thick.

"I believe so, though I'm going to give him a mild sedative to help him relax."

Gibbs nodded his understanding and headed over to the officers who'd secured the scene with him earlier. As he led them out of the house, away from the laptop; he could only hope that the outside of the house wasn't being watched.

"Jim. Until we know who this is and why he's doing this, you need to do what you can to protect the rest of your family. I'm pretty sure that the house is bugged and chances are they know you're related. Is there anywhere you can go?" Jim's face darkened slightly at handing over the reins. "Hey, we'll take it from here so do Tim a favor and keep yourselves safe."

"Thank you, Agent Gibbs. I would feel much better if I could go make sure my girls are okay. They're gonna be devastated when they find out." Gibbs never really knew exactly how close knit Tim's family was and this show of grief and worry for his in-laws really tugged at the older agents heart.

"Tell your wife as little as possible for now because there's no reason to upset her or panic her."

"That'll be hard. I don't keep secrets from her. This is her family were talking about and the woman can read me like a book." Jim scrubbed his hand over his face and sighed heavily at the whole, torrid situation.

"Just get her out of town and don't make your travel plans well known. Just go! Before you do, leave me your number so I can contact you."

"Right. Good idea. You guys need us to stick around now?"

"No, go on, go take care of your family. Both of you." Gibbs pushed quietly.

Gibbs waited for the two officers to leave and headed back inside looking for Tony. When he walked into the den where he'd left Tim, he noticed the thick air and the angry looks on Tony and Ziva's faces. They were both getting more and more antsy after being bought up to speed; the fact that Tim had completely shut down and locked himself away in that fog that had settled over him, didn't help. Tony saw Gibbs enter out of the corner of his eye and turned his attention to his boss.

"Boss? How you want us to handle this?" Tony asked quietly as he met Gibbs half-way into the room. Ziva was hot on his tail and soon joined the conversation as Ducky stayed with Tim.

"I want you to go on and take McGee and Ducky back to my house, Tony. Don't let your guard down and don't let them outta your sight. I'm calling Vance for extra eyes and ears on this one. You'll have outside protection to back you up. Ducky'll be taking care of Tim so your job is helping Ducky and protecting both of them. Ziva, call Abby and get her to link up with this laptop; whatever you do don't shut it down because we don't wanna lose the feed this bastard's got set up."

"On it, Boss." Tony said with a sheer conviction that made Gibbs proud.

"Yes, Gibbs." Ziva quietly answered and drew out her phone. Gibbs nodded at both of them and headed back over to Tim and Ducky. "C'mon, DiNozzo; soon as I talk to him, I want you on the road. You'd better check in every 15 min til' you get inside my house."

"I will, Boss." Tony answered. Gibbs' edginess made Tony nervous and he wished that Vance already had the backup in place because this whole situation was starting to tear at his nerves.

Gibbs walked over to Ducky and watched as his old friend kept vigil over his ailing agent and sat next to his agent. He reached over and placed his hand on Tim's arm to get his attention.

"McGee. I need some questions answered. It's important."

Tim seemed to automatically respond to the boss' calm, quiet voice and his head turned towards Gibbs. It took a moment for Tim's eyes to finally find his boss and Gibbs was pleased to see the young man was now focusing rather than looking straight through him with that vacant stare. Gibbs new the look on Tim's face was still wrong but felt relief wash over him when he realized that Tim had responded to him somehow.

"Did your parents have a security system?

Tim silently nodded and stood up from the couch; his movements were slow and methodical as he walked over to his mother's desk and opened the drawer before pulling out an envelope. Gibbs followed and accepted the envelope as it was handed over to him. Tim didn't let go though, and both men stood there holding on before Tim looked up and relayed the fear that was making him reluctant to relax his grip on the paper.

"What if he gets pissed that I left and hurts them worse, Boss? I'm already responsible for this as it is! I don't wanna be responsible for them being hurt any worse! I can't go anywhere!"

"Tim. You listen to me, all right? He hasn't given us anything to go on. Until he does, our job is to protect you as much as it is to find your family. You know this. Now, go. Let Tony and Ducky do their jobs and you do yours; which, right now, is to get your head back in the game so you can help us find this bastard before he does anything else. You got me?"

Tim searched Gibbs' eyes for the promise he knew he'd find; the promise that they'd get this guy and rescue his family. As expected, Tim was able to take stock in Gibbs' strength and determination and nodded back in silent agreement to his boss' instruction.

"Jethro, it will take time for him to be able to do that, you do realize that, don't you?" Ducky asked. "Shock like this doesn't go away that quickly."

"Yeah, Duck. I know. I also know you'll take good care of him."

Both of them looked over at Tim and cringed at the sight before them. Tim had fallen too far into shock and his body was currently paying the price. His face was pale and had a fine layer of sweat filming the skin. He was shaking so hard that everyone thought he was going to fly apart at any minute; worst of all was the fact that he could no longer get his mind to cooperate and even though he heard Gibbs' instructions, he couldn't physically act upon them or help contribute to bring his family back.

Tony had been standing quietly by and watched the scene unfold. The fact that everything seemed so damn surreal took him by surprise because he hadn't expected or prepared for the fact that Tim's nightmares might actually become some sort of twisted reality.

He'd screwed up; he'd failed Tim in the biggest way. His assignment was to protect Tim and Ducky now, and no matter what, he was going to do that to the best of his ability. He would feel better about the situation when he got them back to Gibbs' house and he was on familiar ground that he had control over. Then again, if this perp knew Tim and Gibbs; what's to say he didn't have something planted in Gibbs' house? Wired, tapped, or worse booby-trapped? Was Gibbs' house the best place to take them? Was it part of this perp's plan? Tony wouldn't leave from here until he ran these possible ideas by the boss.

"Tony, go on, get goin." The boss prodded impatiently.

"Boss." Tony's demeanor screamed uneasy and worried.

"What is it?" Gibbs asked quietly as he paid close attention to his Agent's body language and frowned heavily at the creases of concern that adorned his face.

"I…It's ….what if…"

"DINOZZO! Spit it out or hit the road." Gibbs' patience was running thin and Tony's stuttering did nothing to help soothe his anger.

"Boss, it's just, well what if the guy knows you? This could be bigger than what we think." For some reason Tony found it difficult to just come out and say exactly what it was he was thinking.

"What are you talking about Tony? McGees's not doin' well at the moment and it's not helping him being here so spit it out already!"

"What if your house is bugged? I mean he could have it wired, booby trapped; anything,Boss. How do we know?" Tony felt a weight shift of his shoulders at finally admitting what it was he was thinking.

"Good point. I'll add that to the list of things we need taken care of from Vance's end. It'll take you 3 hours to get there. I'll make sure he's taken care of it by then. Whatever you do, don't go to McGee's apartment. Since it's Tim he's after, that's the first place he would have done something like that."

"Thanks, Boss. You wanna speak to Probie before you go?"

"No. Just take him home." Gibbs turned to walk but paused briefly before turning back and ruffling Tony's hair. "Good thinking, Tony."

"Boss?" there was something else playing on Tony's mind.

"Where's the mutt?"

"With Abby." Ziva answered as she walked up to the two men and cut into their conversation.

"At work?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes. She picked him up from the kennel as a favor to McGee."

"Makes sense; Probie'll want him close by."

"I'll add it to Vance's list." Gibbs said with a touch of dryness as he led them outside and took his phone out of his pocket to make the call; physically gesturing for Tony to get moving.

Ziva followed Tony, Ducky and Tim out to the car and watched for trouble. Her hand constantly hovered over the butt of her gun and she didn't relax until Tim was comfortably situated in the car. She glanced over to Ducky who had just handed Tim a small white tablet and was busy encouraging him to swallow.

"Ducky. What is that for?"

"It's a mild sedative. Don't worry, my dear, it's not strong enough to completely knock him out but it will take the edge off and make him relax during the journey. Right now he needs rest and his body is reacting adversely to the shock." Ziva nodded and made her way over to the open car door.

"McGee. Swallow." She had taken the tablet out of Tim's hand and was currently holding it to his lips; pushing harder, she was relieved when Tim opened his mouth enough for the tablet to be pushed inside.

"Drink some of this. It will help." A bottle of water appeared in the same place the table was being held and Ziva tipped it carefully; only giving enough so that Tim could swallow the pill.

"Thank you, Ziva. I didn't think Timothy was going to take that without a fight; You certainly have a way with people."

"You are very welcome, Ducky." Ziva gave the M.E. a quick pat on the arm and stood back while they got settled. It didn't take long before the car pulled away leaving Ziva standing watching them drive away. An odd sensation hit her in the pit of her stomach. All of this was just so wrong and she almost didn't know what to do with herself.

The trip back to D.C. was a quiet affair since Tony had told Ducky that he was concerned about the vehicles being bugged. The outside of the cars had already been checked for tracking devices and despite being clear, bugs could be hidden anywhere. Both men were lost in thought as the road rushed past them in a blur. They were lost in their thought and the only movements were Ducky checking on Tim periodically. Ducky couldn't help but think that Tim must have been exhausted because no sooner had the tablet started to take effect, had he fallen asleep.

"How's he doin', Duck?"

"As well as can be expected, Anthony. Hopefully he'll stay asleep long enough for his body to physically recover." Tony nodded his head.

"Ducky…"

"Yes Anthony. I'm doing it now." Ducky pulled out his phone and dialed Gibbs. It had become almost ritualistic in nature and whilst the calls were cryptic, they held a lot of merit because Gibbs knew his people were safe.

Tony pulled up to Gibbs' house three hours later and was surprised to see Vance's car sitting across the street.

"Looks like the Director's here, Ducky." Tony held the door open for Ducky to step out and made his way round to the other side to help Tim find his feet.

"Easy there, Probie. Come on let's get you inside; lean on me." Tony felt Tim sag slightly against him and was more than a little bit disturbed by the tremors that still assaulted his friend's body. The progress to the front door was slow but eventually they made it. Tony stopped suddenly when the door opened.

"DiNozzo, McGee." Director Vance stood at the door and frowned heavily at the sight of Tony supporting Tim. "Dr. Mallard, is he ok?"

"He will be once we get him settled in bed and I can give him something to help him sleep. Young Timothy here has been through quite an ordeal, Director and the best thing for him right now is rest."

As if sensing his master's angst and exhaustion, Jethro held back from jumping up at Tim and stayed where he sat. He must have got a sniff of the abnormal air that surrounded Tim and his friends and followed the up the stairs with his tail between his legs.

"Easy Jethro. You can stay with him, boy but you've gotta be good and watch over Probie for me," Tony quickly stroked the German shepherd's head before taking Tim up to bed with Ducky and Vance's support.

By the time the three of them got back downstairs after making sure Tim was genuinely sleeping and comfortable, Tony was pleasantly surprised to see his favorite Goth sweeping the living room for bugs.

"Abbs." He held his arms open and waited for the bone crushing hug he wanted.

"Tony! How're you guys? Is Tim all right?" She ran into his arms and squeezed with all her might.

"Umph…Abs I need to breathe."

"Sorry. Is McGee ok, Tony? You didn't answer." Tony quirked a small smile and rubbed her back absent mindedly.

"He'll be fine. It's just gonna take time. We'll get them back, Abbs."

"I know Tony. It's just that….why? Why McGee? He doesn't deserve this." Tony felt the damp patch on his shirt long before he heard the small irregular intake of air.

"Aww, come on. Don't cry…."

"DiNozzo, here." Ducky and the Director walked in carrying four hot steaming mugs of coffee between them. Vance handed one to Tony and turned towards Abby "Miss. Sciuto. Did you find anything?"

"No, the house is clear. Thank you." She accepted the coffee and walked over to Ducky. "Hey Duckman. You look tired."

"And you have been crying, Abigail." Ducky reached up and swiped away at a tear that moistened Abby's cheek before wrapping her in a hug for a moment.

"I'm fine, Ducky. How's Tim?" She answered after she'd stepped back from the M.E. to ask her questions.

"I've administered a sedative that will help him sleep through the night. Now I know you have a long drive ahead of you so drink your coffee because you are needed at Timothy's parent's house."

"I'm just waiting for Balboa. We're taking the truck because it's outfitted with what we need to keep the feed going." As if on cue, there was a knock at the door. Tony answered it and greeted the other agent.

"Hey. She's through there." Balboa appeared in the living room a minute later and after a brief talk with the director, he left with Abby in tow.

"I presume McGee is going to be out for the night so how about you fill me in, DiNozzo?" Tony nodded and watched as Ducky took his leave to go and sit with Tim.

It took a good hour for Tony to bring the director up to speed and after assuring Tony that they would have his full support and that back up protection duty was stationed both in the front yard and in the back, he stood to take his leave.

"Keep me in the loop and tell Gibbs I want a sitrep as soon as he's available."

"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Director."

"You're welcome. Look after McGee and make sure you all stay safe." Vance left giving Tony the opportunity to walk around the house doing the obligatory checks. Once convinced that every window was locked and the doors were secure, he headed upstairs to see how things were with Tim.

To his relief, his probie was sleeping peacefully with no signs of stress or trauma; that in itself made his heart feel a little bit lighter.

"Promise me you won't tease him, Anthony." Ducky's low, jovial tone and slight smile let Tony know he was joking.

"Who me? Ducky, I'm insulted." Tony shot back quietly with his own brand of humor.

"Yes well, be offended downstairs because I for one would prefer Timothy to get as much rest as he can." Ducky patted the side of the bed that was empty and scratched behind Jethro's ear when the dog jumped on the bed and settled down to stay with his master. "Keep him safe Jethro, you hear? There might be a treat in it if you do this for me."

With that sentiment, the two men made their way downstairs to talk.


	11. Chapter 10

Tony sat on Gibbs' sofa and cringed at the feel of the hard cushions. He knew the former marine had no idea about comfort, and that the man practically lived in his basement; _but damn! Would a comfortable couch be too much to ask for?_ He fidgeted slightly and finally managed to get comfortable; something that bought the images of the past few hours to the forefront of his mind.

"Anthony? Are you all right?"

Ducky's soothing, concerned voice drew him back to the present and he did the only thing he could think of; he grinned.

"Sure, Ducky." He accepted the coffee that Ducky offered. "Not too sure about Probie though."

"I know but all we can do is be there for him and support him through whatever gets thrown at him." Ducky sat down next to Tony and sipped at his tea "the poor boy doesn't deserve this."

Tony frowned at Ducky's comment and sighed heavily. Upstairs, in Gibbs' guest bedroom, lay the closest thing he'd ever had to a brother; something that he would protect and cherish at all costs. He thought back to the faithful German Shepherd that had pretty much insisted on curling up next to his master and remembered his promise to get the mutt some treats when he had the chance. "I think Jethro'll have his work cut out for him there."

Ducky huffed out a chuckle at Tony's comment "You know he's not gonna leave McGee's side right?"

"That is something I do believe Anthony. Though, it may not be a bad thing right now."

"What do you mean?" Tony didn't understand Ducky's comment and frowned at the M.E.

"Timothy's family has been taken and the boy has watched them being abused first hand. He is no doubt in deep shock and would want to hold anything or anyone he cares deeply for, close right now."

"I never thought about that."

"It may not be like that Anthony. I can only surmise as to how he would react. I know that if I were in his shoes, then I would keep everything that is safe, near." Ducky watched Tony nod slightly and sighed heavily into the silence that had descended.

"We'll save them right? I mean we've got to for Probie's sake." Tony stood and walked over to the window.

"We'll lose him if we don't." Ducky stood and made his way over to stand by Tony's side. He sipped at his rapidly cooling tea and cocked his head slightly at the sight of the raindrops that pattered onto the sodden ground. "He has to make it through Anthony; no matter the outcome. I don't think Jethro...Gibbs...will let him merely curl up and die over this. He has an extended family now and we'll do everything in our power to get the poor boy through this." Ducky's words were sincere but Tony honed in on the edge of hesitation that sat underneath the stoic words.

"But?" "But, I don't know whether or not it will be the Timothy we know or love. If his family don't survive, then I worry that he will go through the motions of living but there will always be something missing; some spark that has been lost." Ducky paused briefly to rein in his emotions "If they do survive, then once the relief abates; Timothy will be left with the task of supporting his traumatized family and won't give himself the chance to actually rationalize the situation. He'll bottle it all up."

"They'll survive! They've got to Ducky. I know for a fact we've got the best people on the case so all we have to do is get them out of there alive."

"You truly believe it is that easy Anthony? I know for a fact that this has affected you deeply; much deeper than you are ever going to admit." Ducky always could read his friends...his family.

"I can't let my feelings cloud my judgement Ducky. I need to be there for McGee because no matter what, he's gonna need us to lean on right now."

Ducky let the words sink in and turned his attention back to the yard. He soon became lost in his mind when he heard Jethro bark loudly before an ominous thump sounded through the ceiling. Tony sprang into action and pulled his service weapon from the holster before making his way up the stairs. Ducky froze at the bottom and waited for Tony to give him the all clear to go upstairs.

"Ducky! I need your help here!"

The M.E. hurtled up the stairs and felt his gut clench when he heard Tim's loud sobs.

"_Mom...No stop...Please! Don't do this...Dad...Sarah..."_

He walked into the room and saw Jethro sitting obediently by the side of the bed as Tony tried to wake Tim. "Probie!...Hey come on man, you need to wake up." His words were punctuated by a firm shake but the effort had no effect on Tim.

_"Noooo...Oh my...stop it! Leave them alone...Leave..."_

**"TIMOTHY! WAKE UP THIS INSTANT."**

Tony started at Ducky's harsh words and glared in his direction.

"There you go. Easy now, you were having a nightmare." The M.E.'s tone had changed to calm and comforting in the measure of a heartbeat.

Tim blearily looked around the room and let his gaze drop to the whimpering he heard next to the bed. Tony could almost see the relief on his face when he realised Jethro was there.

"Hey boy." Tim sat up and absent mindedly pet his dog's head.

"Timothy. I would like to check you over if that's alright with you. Nothing invasive; just blood pressure and such."

Tim nodded and sighed heavily. He felt both physically and mentally exhausted and the aches that resided deep in his muscles added to the torture that he was already relieving constantly. He felt a BP cuff slip over his arm and turned to face Ducky. "What am I gonna do, Ducky?"

Ducky frowned and looked up at Tim

"I mean, what if they don't...what if they don't come back."

"They will, Timothy. You have to have some faith and believe that your other family will find them safe and sound."

Tim nodded and felt tears prickle in the corner of his eyes. It wasn't long before he gave into his raging emotions and sat there sobbing openly and without shame. He felt the bed dip and was pulled into two strong arms.

"Easy there Probie. Everything's gonna be all right."

_Tony? What the hell_? Tim stiffened under Tony's embrace and sobbed harder as he tried to get away. It felt weird having his friend comforting him in a way that a brother would but Tony's persistence to support him through the pain soon won out and Tim melted into the hug; the tears flowing freely down his face to leave a damp patch on his friends' expensive designer suit. They sat there for what seemed like an eternity and Tony felt Tim slump.

"Tim?"

"He's asleep, Anthony. I suggest we let him get as much as he can because he's exhausted. His body is simply telling him enough is enough and to get some rest."

Ducky helped Tony manoeuvre Tim back down into the bed and pulled the comforter up over him. He reached own and brushed Tim's hair away from his head "Sleep now Timothy. Tomorrow is a new day."

Gibbs pulled out his phone and sighed heavily at the fact that there had been no calls to tell him his people had arrived home safe and sound. He glanced up briefly and swallowed his anger before dialling.

"Ah Jethro. Sorry for not calling but ..."

"But what Duck? I've been outta my mind with worry; what's goin' on?" Gibbs couldn't keep the bite out of his voice and grimaced slightly at how he must have sounded.

"I apologise and before you say it's a sign of weakness, may I remind you of a little dicky bird telling me it didn't count when it mattered."

"That's not what I said Duck."

"I distinctly..."

"Damn it Duck. I want to know what the hell's going on. Stop being difficult!"Gibbs knew Ducky wasn't being awkward on purpose but right now he was wound tighter than a spring and he wanted answers fast.

"Ahh, well young Timothy is resting now, though he did have a nightmare."

"You gave him something. It didn't help?"

"I gave him a mile sedative to help with travel Jethro. By the time we got him back to your house, it would have worked its way out of his system. I assure you, the sleep he had was a result of nothing but sheer exhaustion. His body simply couldn't keep up with the stress and lack of sleep and shut down."

"He all right?"

"Anthony is with him but I believe he is sleeping. I have checked him over and although his readings are a minor concern; given the circumstances he is holding up well."

Gibbs frowned heavily and saw the NCIS truck coming up the drive. "Just watch him for me, Duck. I'm going to make sure Abby's all right and I'll make my way home."

"Just be careful, Jethro." Gibbs snapped his phone shut and walked over to the truck as it pulled in.

Abby gaped with awe at the large house that Tim's parents owned. Truth be told, she thought it was beautiful but couldn't help but feel that it had been tainted by the actions of the sick person that had done this to Tim's family...To Tim. Sighing heavily she stepped out of the van and made her way over to Gibbs.

"Hey Abbs. You okay?" He reached out and pulled Abby into a comforting hug.

"Yeah. I think so. Where's the laptop?"

"It's in the living room but I want you to take your time on this one all right?" He waited for Abby to nod and started to lead her into the house. "Listen, I'm hoping that the stuff we've seen has been recorded. If it has, then I need you to stay calm for me otherwise I'll get someone else to do the legwork on this."

"I'm good, Boss. I want to do this; for Tim." Gibbs nodded and led her into the living room where the laptop sat. Abby knelt down by the coffee table and automatically started running a background analysis of the laptop. Gibbs watched with amazement knowing that, after Tim, she was the best person for the job. "Oh no."

"Abby?"

"Gibbs, He's started to..." She let out a strangled sob when Tim's father came into view; he was bloody and beaten and the very sight made Gibbs' heart clench.

"I know you sent Tim away Agent Gibbs. This is what you get for spoiling my fun." The voice was cold and sinister.

"Yeah well, you might be gettin' your kicks at the moment but we'll see who gets the most out of me slamming your face into the wall." Gibbs' anger boiled over and the sheer rage made Abby blanch.

"Tut, Tut. That kind of attitude will only result in them being further injured. I'm sure the ladies would like to share in his pain." A finger swam into view and pointed at Tim's father.

"You're sick." Gibbs growled at the laugh that eminated from the laptop and threw his coffee cup against the wall when the screen went black.

"Gibbs." Abby's voice shook as she looked over at him with sheer fear and loathing at what she had just witnessed.

"Abby, I need you to focus all right?" he waited for her to nod "you can do it, Abbs."

She got to work and soon had the laptop secured with a mobile modem. She lifted the machine up and carried it to the door as if it was the most precious thing in the world;_No matter what_, she silently vowed, I_am going to get this back and analyse every last bit of data for Tim. We're gonna find his family before it's too late!_


	12. Chapter 11

Jim pulled up to the house and sighed heavily when he saw the lights were still on. He had no idea of what he was going to tell his wife. He had thought about taking Gibbs' advice and telling her as little as possible but the fact that he loved the McGee's just as much as his own flesh and blood made it difficult for him to detach himself enough to act alright.

"Suck it up Jim. She's not gonna bite." His quiet murmur seemed loud to his own ears and made him cringe. He sat there for a while and contemplated going in when he was startled by a knocking on the cruiser window. He looked up to see the bemused face of his beloved wife staring back at him.

"Jim? You going to stay out there all night or are you planning on coming to keep me warm."

Jim turned off the engine and stepped out of the car.

"Sorry, Baby. How's your day been?" He wrapped his arms round his wife and kissed the top of her head.

"Same old. Your daughter managed to cause trouble at nursery again." She felt Jim huff out a small laugh before carrying on "She's taken it upon herself to start biting the other kids. Seriously, where does she get it from?"

"I don't know, Honey but we'll talk to her in the morning about it. Listen, I need to talk to you so how about we go inside and curl up on the couch with some cocoa." Anna pulled away and frowned at his tone. She knew her husband well and could see the haunted look that lingered in his eyes.

"Everything okay?"

"Not really but hopefully, things soon will be."

"Jim..."

"Anna, please. Not out here alright? Let's go inside and we'll talk.

They held hands whilst they walked inside and it wasn't too long before Jim had locked away his service weapon and was sitting on the couch holding his wife with a steaming mug of hot chocolate.

"I need you to listen to me, Honey. There's been a problem with your family but we're on the case and it'll be sorted out soon." He watched her face turn from curious to worry in a fraction of a second. It was heartbreaking for him to watch but knew that he couldn't ignore it completely.

"What kind of problem, Jim. I don't understand. Is it serious?"

"It'll work itself out so I don't want you to worry." He was trying to be evasive but knew that he had failed miserably when her face contorted once again and she sat glaring at him.

"If my family's in trouble, Jim, then you better damn well tell me what the hell is going on!"

"Sweetheart..." He tried to pacify her rising panic and failed miserably.

"Don't you 'sweetheart' me!" She slammed down the mug and he internally cursed himself for even raising the subject. Why couldn't I just have told her I'd had a bad day?

"This is my family we are talking about and if there is a problem that warrants you taking care of something then I want to know what's going on."

Jim sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes with his free hand. There was no going back now and he knew it would be plastered all over the morning news anyway; the damn reporters always managed to get the inside scoop on stuff like this and it would be better that it came from him than from the morning news.

"Anna...alright, but you have got to promise me you won't freak out." Jim placed his mug on the coffee table and grasped both her hands in his. "Listen, Jacob, Angela and Sarah are in a bit of trouble that we need to try to sort out. It's nothing that I want you to worry about and you need to know that we are going to help them as much as we can."

"Jim, please. What do you mean they are in a bit of trouble? What's happened to them?" Her husband gazed into the green eyes that he had soon discovered to be a family trait with the McGee's, and knew at that moment that he just couldn't skirt the issue; it would simply tear at his soul until he broke and she would know that the situation was worse than what he was letting on.

"Anna. Tim has been ha..."

"Tim! Oh my God; please tell me he's okay!" Anna started to panic at the sound of her favourite cousin's name.

"Look at me! Anna, Tim's going to be alright. He's with friends right now so I need you to stop reacting and listen carefully to what I am going to tell you. After that, you can freak out as much as you want alright?" He waited for his wife to nod and pulled her hands up to his face to kiss them gently.

"Alright, baby. Tim has been having nightmares for the past week and the kid looks like hell. He's been dreaming about his mom, dad and sister being kidnapped and tortured whilst he's forced to watch." Jim let the first nugget of information sink in and could see the look of concern sit heavily in her eyes.

"He insisted on driving out here and his boss insisted on driving him. When they got to Jacob and Angela's they weren't there but some sick bastard had a laptop set up on the living room table with a live feed playing."

"What happened, Jim? Please, I need to know everything." Her pleading tone broke his heart and he made the decision there and then, to protect her from ever having to feel this kind of pain again.

"They've been kidnapped, Honey. I don't know how, but Tim's nightmares came to life; they were premonitions. I cleared upstairs with my partner and when we got down, the kid was in shock and some psycho was feeding him live footage of the family tied up. Jacob's been beaten and the girls look like they've been through the wringer too." Anna sucked in a huge lungful of air as the shock hit her like a tidal wave.

"Please tell me you know who this guy is? Please, they have to be alright...Tim! I need to talk to Tim."

"They sedated him so they could get him home without incident. Honey, he's not in good shape right now so needs any bit of rest he can get. Let him be tonight and ring him in the morning."

"NO! Damn it Jim! He's my...he's my baby cousin; If I could have a baby brother I'd choose him.. You know? I don't talk to them all the time but Tim helped us out when we needed it and set up that trust fund for Izzy. I can't bear it Jim. I just can't. I need to know he's alright because I have no idea whether the rest of the family is and it's going to kill him. I CAN CONTROL THIS PART! I can be there for him because right now we're all he's got"

"I know you can and you will spea..."

"In fact, pack a bag because we're going to DC. Izzy's in bed but she can sleep in the car." Anna pulled her hands free of her husband's and started to pace in the small living room. "We can leave within the hour and be in DC..."

"Oh hell, no! Anna, we are NOT going to DC. Tim won't want that and Gibbs wants us to go away and be quiet about it. Hell, he didn't want me to tell you everything." That was it, Anna's fury emerged full force and was unleashed on her troubled husband.

"Didn't want you to tell me everything!" Anna growled the sentence as if the words were made of pure poison "Who is Gibbs? And why the hell are you listening to him. I'm your wife, damn it and if my family's in danger then I damn well want to know! We're not deserting them! Now pack your bag and be ready to leave within the hour. We are going to DC so I can take care of Tim whether you like it or not!"

There was no reasoning with her so Jim did the only thing he knew how and stood up to go and pack his bags.

"I hope you're gonna be the one to tell my supervisor that we're not going to be in town because he's going to be pissed" He stomped off towards the stairs and left Anna seething quietly in the living room. She'd calm down, he knew that, but what she was suggesting was wrong and drove the knife of worry further into his already abused gut. He pulled out the little scrap of paper that Gibbs had given him; on it was Gibbs address and cell phone number so he could contact them when needed. He glanced at the paper and pulled out his phone; as it was dialing he couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"Sorry Gibbs, but there's no stoppin' her when she's like this."

Gibbs walked through his door to his house feeling the exhaustion and worry weighing down on him; at this precise moment in time, he could probably give Atlas a run for his money because he seriously felt as though the weight of the world was laying heavily on his shoulders. He moved to the kitchen and was mildly surprised to see Ducky sitting at the table cradling his head in one hand whilst the other wrapped around a large steaming mug of ..._coffee? since when did Ducky drink coffee_?

"Duck? You alright?"

"No Jethro, I am not. How did everything go?" Ducky's honest answer added to the despair that he already felt.

"As well as can be expected. Abbs has the laptop in her lab now but the S.O.B. knew what had happened and tried to transmit again. He told me he knew I'd sent McGee away and beat Jacob McGee for it." Ducky huffed out a breath before sighing heavily.

"I don't know how much more of this the poor boy can take. I'm on the verge of sending him to Bethesda because his vitals are all over the place."

"What? Talk to me."

"He's had three more nightmares since you called and is currently upstairs sleeping fitfully because every time he closes his eyes he sees them. The difference now, is the fact that he's not seeing them like he did before, he's seeing that terrible images on the laptop. Jethro, it's playing around in the poor boy's mind like it is on repeat."

Ducky's information socked Gibbs in the gut hard and left him feeling weak at the knees. He pulled out one of the chairs and sank down into it.

"Crap! Why'd you wanna send him to hospital?"

"When I checked on him last, his heart was racing and he was obviously in some kind of physical pain though he's disconnected from us and won't tell us where it hurts. He's got all the classical symptoms of emotional shock and apart from the two I just mentioned he is showing signs of fatigue; low concentration; agitation; muscle tension and is easily startled. All of which are edging him closer to a heart attack. I don't know what to do."

"If you think he needs to be at Bethesda then you send him there. I don't want him making himself sick over this." Gibbs worried over what Ducky had just told him.

"I understand that Jethro, but I'm not sure taking him away from the people that are seemingly helping is going to a great benefit at the moment. I want to see how he goes and if I deem he belongs at the hospital, then I will take him."

Gibbs stood up to pour himself a coffee.

"Alright. What's with the coffee Duck?"

"Caffeine. I believe this is going to b a long night and I need all the help I can get at the moment." Gibbs was just about to answer when Tony's panicked voice screamed down the stairs.

"DUCKY! I NEED YOU UP HERE NOW!"

Both men jumped up and ran up the stairs. They had no idea what had happened but given Ducky's recount of Tim's health, they were seriously worried. They burst into the bedroom and balked slightly at the sight in front of them. Tim was sat bolt upright, sweating profusely; his body wracked by shaking so hard that Gibbs thought he was going to vibrate straight off of the bed. His breathes were coming out in short burst and the mess on the comforter told them that Tim had lost the battle with his nausea.

"Timothy, can you hear me?" Ducky moved to the side of the bed and gently peeled the soiled bed clothes away from Tim. He placed his fingers over Tim's carotid artery and for the first time ever, cursed "Damn, he's hyperventilating. Anthony, I need a paper bag please. I believe there are some in the kitchen drawer."

Tony sprang into action and darted out of the room. Gibbs watched the drama unfold and couldn't help but bark out the question that he so desperately wanted the answer to.

"What's going on?"

"He's having a panic attack Jethro. I need to stop this now because his heart is beating too fast and he's struggling to breathe."

Ducky had gripped Tim's shoulder in an effort to ground him. "Timothy, I need you to calm down. Please, you are not helping yourself in any way and are making it worse."

Gibbs rushed to Ducky's side and pulled the M.E. away so he could bend down and pull Tim's legs round so that they dangled over the edge of the bed. Tim didn't struggle and let himself be manhandled; the fact that it was so damn easy made Gibbs cringe and he soon had Tim perched on the edge with his head between his knees.

"MCGEE! SNAP OUT OF IT!"

Tim didn't respond to Gibbs no matter what he did. The kid simply couldn't keep breathing like this. He was relieved when Tony ran in with a paper bag and handed it over without question. Gibbs bunched up the top of the bag and placed it over Tim's mouth.

"Easy Tim. That's it, just breathe." Tim's breathing calmed down with the help of the bag and Gibbs nodded towards Ducky to let him know he could move in and take Tim's vitals.

"Let's see what the damaged is shall we."

It took Ducky a good 10 minutes to get the information that he needed about Tim's health and he sat back in the chair with a heavy sigh.

"Timothy, I want you to go to Bethesda. Your heart simply cannot take this level of shock and panic."

"No." Tim's voice was practically a whisper.

"Hey! You listen to Ducky, McGee..." Gibbs tried to interrupt to get his agent to see reason.

"Please, Boss. I don't wa...I need to be here. Please." Tim's pleading was almost heartbreaking to hear and left Gibbs pondering a solution.

"He need to go to? I don't think it's the best thing for him right now."

"I won't force him but I strongly suggest it."

Whilst the two older men discussed what they were going to do, Tony moved in and sat next to Tim.

"Hey Probie. You scared the crap out of me back there." Tony wrapped his arm around Tim's shoulders and frowned at the residual shaking that didn't want to stop.

"Sorry."

"Sign of weakness. Hey, what about I go run you a bath because I gotta tell ya, the puked on look just isn't working this season." For the first time that night, Tim gave a small smile and nodded "and you stink."

"Yeah. I know."

Ducky and Gibbs had stopped talking and were silently watching the exchange. There was no malice in Tony's words; just a brotherly banter that provided Tim with that modicum of normality that he needed. Tim struggled to his feet but swayed dangerously before being pulled back down to sit on the bed.

"Woah there. Let me go get the bath started and then i'm gonna help. No arguments because I don't trust you in a tub full of water. You'd only go and drown on me." Tony stood and made his way into the bathroom to run the bath. Gibbs frowned at the pained, pale face and knelt in front of his agent.

"Hey. Come on, you need to stop this." He put his finger under Tim's chin and lifted his head so he was looking at the boss directly.

"I can't do this anymore, Boss. I just can't keep seeing them..." Tim's sentence was bought to a halt by the tears that had threatened to fall all night. Gibbs did the only thing he knew and pulled Tim into a tight embrace that would hopefully provide him with the comfort that he so desperately needed.

"That's it, Son. Let it all out." Tim sobbed openly and Gibbs got so caught up on pacifying him that he didn't hear Tony return. He was startled when a gentle hand lay on his shoulder.

"Hey, Boss. The bath is ready, can you help me with him?" Gibbs nodded and between the two of them, they managed to get Tim to the bathroom.

"Timothy, I'm going to go downstairs to make something for you to eat." Tim's eyes shot up and he was about to say something but Ducky jumped in "No arguments. You will at least try. I'll keep it light."

"I'll try, but I'm not hungry."

"Nausea?" Ducky saw Tim nod and made a note to include some anti-emetics to the prescription he was going to write.

"Soup it is then." The M.E. turned and left the bathroom so his two colleagues could help Tim.

"Alright Probie, strip...Ouch! Boss?" Gibbs shot Tony a harsh glare. "Right. Thanks Boss."

"I'm alright. I can..."

"Not right now, McGee. You're gonna let us help because I'll be damned if I'm filling out paperwork for you drowning in the bath; in my bathroom at that."

Tim's face flushed red with embarrassment.

"You can keep your tighty whitey's on, McModesty. Come on." Tony lifted the hem of Tim's shirt and pulled it over his head; cringing at the mess that had soaked through it onto Tim's chest. He didn't think it was possible, but Tim's face flushed a deeper shade of puce.

"Quit it, McGee. What's a little puke between friends."

"Tony, you got this?" Gibbs wanted to go downstairs to speak to Ducky and knew that the humiliation of having his boss help him bathe would probably send Tim over the edge.

"Yeah, Boss. We're good; right, Probie?"

Tim nodded and fixed his gaze on the pristine white tiles.

"Good. I'm going to change the bedding and will be downstairs with Duck." Gibbs left his two agents alone in the bathroom to offer them the privacy that they deserved. He made quick work of changing the bed and made his way downstairs with the dirty laundry bundled in his arms. Just as he reached the bottom step, there was a knock on the door. He dropped the bedding in a pile on the floor and answered it.

"What the hell?" He was stunned by the sight of Jim Jenkins and his family standing on his doorstep.

"Agent Gibbs I presume? I'm Anna Jenkins and this is my daughter Isabelle. We're here to see Tim."

"Well you better come in them. Jim, I thought I told you..."

"I know damn well what you told my husband and I have to say; if you ever tell him to keep stuff from me again, you will be singing soprano for the rest of the month. Now, where is my cousin?"

Despite her brusque manner, Gibbs found he actually liked the little fire cracker that was Tim's cousin. He had never appreciated people beating about the bush.

"He's in the bath. Come in. You wanna put her on the couch." Gibbs nodded towards the sleeping toddler in Anna's arms.

"Yeah and then you are going to tell me everything that has happened and why you felt the need to get my husband to lie to me." She walked into the living room and laid her daughter down on the couch.

"I think we're gonna need coffee for this one, Jim. "

"You're preaching to the choir there, Gibbs. Seriously, she's like a pitbull chewing a wasp at the moment so I daren't argue with her." Jim looked abashed at having driven all this way to turn up unannounced.

"Uh huh. Well you and me are going to have a long talk on the merits of keeping people in the dark for their own safety."

"You can try! What the hell is going on and who is this sick psychopathic person that has my family?"

" We don't know yet but we are doing our level best to find them safe and sound."

"Yeah, well...Tim!" Anna ran to the stairs and wrapped her arms around her cousin. Gibbs felt his heart melt when Tim practically collapsed into the embrace and sobbed all over again. "You look like hell. Why aren't you in bed?"

"He heard you when he was in the bath and wanted to come see you." Tony had followed Tim down and was leaning against the banister rail.

"Come on. I want you back in bed right this instant and then me and you are going to have a long talk, alright?" Tim nodded and led the way back to the bedroom. Anna never let go of her cousin and had woven her fingers through his. Gibbs sighed heavily and picked up the bundle of washing that he had dropped.

"How is he really, Gibbs?"

"Not good, Jim. He's on the verge of being taken to Bethesda because he's not coping with the shock and he's already had a few nightmares. He's just had a major panic attack which has knocked him seriously off his feet."

Jim's face dropped more and Gibbs wasn't sure if it was all possible for the man to get any sadder; he was wrong and Jim soon took on a desperate haunted look.

"We've gotta find them, Gibbs; for all their sakes."

"I know, Jim. Trust me, I know because if we don't; then we're gonna lose, McGee too."


	13. Chapter 12

"Maybe Anna will be able to calm him down." Jim offered with the air of optimism that Gibbs had come to appreciate from McGee. He wondered whether or not it was a family trait that was hard not to pick up when married into the family. Gibbs nodded once but truth be told; he didn't really agree with the man; he knew damn well, that Tim was a sensitive soul anyway and remembered the days following the kid's first shooting.

"I hope so Jim because the way he's going, Ducky'll have him at Bethesda in a heartbeat."

"Boss. I'm um….I'm just gonna go check on Abby and Ziva; see if they've come up with anything." Tony fumbled his words slightly; he was feeling crowded and completely un-needed at the moment and wanted nothing more than to sink his teeth into actually feeling useful. Seeing his Probie go through this and be so traumatised like this had really knocked Tony for a loop and he needed to be doing something to right this wrong, not sitting here doing nothing.

Gibbs' raised his eyebrows in a silent challenge to his Senior Agent's underlying nervous attitude; he knew that there was something wrong and searched for proof that that he hadn't missed something. He watched as Tony's mask slipped in place and sighed heavily at the grin he received.

"Come on, Boss. I can be of more use back at work, getting something done. You know I can't just sit here doing nothing." Tony hoped the boss took his statement as face value. He was a spare wheel at the moment and since Jim, Anna and the small fry had turned up, he had spent his time in the kitchen shifting uncomfortably on the balls of his feet.

Ducky watched the one sided conversation with a hint of both humor and concern. He knew there was an underlying reason why Tony wanted to leave and could see that Gibbs had picked up on it too. The M.E. decided he should try to help both of his friends stay focused on their roles, so stepped in before Gibbs' silent challenge became a problem for Tony instead of the gentle nudge towards what was really bothering the senior field agent that it was meant it to be.

"Anthony, that's a very good idea. Please call me and let me know if Abby and Ziva seem to be in need of help dealing with all of this stress." Ducky removed his glasses and swiped at his eyes wearily. "I'm sure they will need something in the way of reassurance right now, my dear boy."

"Um, okay. Sure, Ducky, but you do realize this is Ziva we're talkin' about right? And Abby'll be fine. She's tougher than she looks; especially when someone messes with McGee. We all know she'd give Fort Knox a run for their money on being tough." Tony was trying desperately to keep his tone light and jovial but his two older colleagues knew him better than he thought and could see through the glass façade he had erected around himself.

The penny finally dropped with Gibbs and all of a sudden, he undersood Ducky's point and backed off. It was time to change tactics and switch gears enough to let Tony do what he needed to do.

"Ducky's right, DiNozzo. We need to know for sure and they might need more help then we realized. Rule 8."

"Right. Okay. I'll call you." Tony answered before slipping out the door so he could head back to headquarters. He felt a wave of relief wash over him as he stepped out of the house and let fresh air cleanse away the oppressive atmosphere of the room he had previously been standing in.

The three men watched him leave and once they heard the front door close, Gibbs started to busy himself making coffee for everyone.

"Rule 8?" Jim asked with an air of confusion.

"Never Assume, I believe, though Jethro has so many that it is difficult to keep track of them all." Ducky's explanation seemed to answer the officer's question though the M.E. could tell that he was itching to pursue the line of enquiry. The look on Ducky's face soon put that idea out of his head.

"Oh, Okay." Jim wisely dropped the subject and moved over to the sink so he could gaze out of the window. Ducky felt a nudge at his elbow and turned to accept the coffee that was being offered. He nodded his thanks and finally managed to get a good look at the team leader.

"Jethro, you look exhausted and you've only just gotten the chance to slow down; go catch some sleep while Timothy's family is here to help watch over him." The M.E. suggested with a kindly, quiet concern.

"Nu-uh, Duck. You were just saying how exhausted you were. You go get some sleep. Leave whatever pills McGee needs to get through the night and go bunk down in the spare bedroom."

"Really, Jethro…" Ducky began to protest.

"I'm serious, Ducky. Go on." Gibbs put his foot down stubbornly and glared at Ducky.

"I'm gonna step out and get the porta-crib out of our car for the baby." Jim turned away from the window and threw the comment out there to try to break up the volley of directives that seemed to have no end in sight. Ducky had turned to watch the man leave and when his focus returned to the fruitless argument he saw Gibbs smirking back at him.

"I'm sorry, Jethro, but I fail to see what has mad…"

"Come on Duck. We're like a couple of kids. Tell you what, you go grab a couple of hours and I'll wake you up so we can switch. I'm not gonna be able to sleep now anyway so you might as well."

"Alright. Fine, but you must wake me in a couple of hours. We must be well rested for Timothy's sake." Ducky conceded defeat and handed the untouched coffee back to Gibbs. "You may as well finish that off Jethro. Just make sure you don't drink enough to stop you from sleeping later."

"Sure, Duck. G'night." Gibbs watched Ducky go and sighed heavily. He was exhausted; Duck was right on that front, but his mind wouldn't stop tossing around the things that he'd seen and his heart wouldn't stop clenching every time he saw Tim at his parent's house looking so completely bereft and broken. Between the two, there was pretty much no chance Gibbs was going to get any sleep tonight.

Jim walked back into the house with the crib and put it down softly in the hallway. The one thing he had forgotten to ask is where they'd be sleeping; to be honest, he'd be happy with a pillow and blanket on the floor and knew that as long as he was with her, Anna wouldn't really care either. All Anna had been bothered about was getting to Tim so a bit of hardship wouldn't really matter. He walked into the kitchen and was surprised to find it empty; it wasn't until he turned on his heels and made his way back to the small hall that he knew where Gibbs had gone. He stopped and listened intently at the soothing tones that wafted their way out from the living room.

"Shhhh, it's alright sweetheart. That's it, go right back to sleep." Jim cocked his head and made his way in to see Gibbs holding his daughter gently; her head resting comfortably on the older man's shoulder.

"She wake up?"

"Not fully, but she was getting pretty restless. Thought I'd help out before she started to cry."

"Thanks. She's got her mother's lungs and would have woken the whole house. I've got the crib but don't know where were gonna sleep." Jim walked over and gently took Izzy from Gibbs. "Sorry about that. She usually sleeps through but the travelling and tension has unsettled her."

"I know. Don't worry about it, honestly it's nice to have a ki….." Gibbs stopped himself mid sentence and shook his head. Why was he letting his guard down to a stranger?

"You got kids?"

"You and Anna alright on a sofabed?" Jim frowned at the flash of pain that shot through the clear blue eyes of Tim's boss as he changed the subject without answering the question.

"Sure. We don't want to be any bother so if it's easier, we'll bunk down on the floor."

"No point when there's a bed available. Come on, let's get Izzy settled and then we'll pull out the bed for you two."

They got the crib set up in no time at all and settled the restless little girl into it. It wasn't long before Izzy finally settled completely and was sound asleep cuddling the teddy bear that Tim had bought her for her first Christmas.

"Where's Dr. Mallard?"

Gibbs smiled and shook his head. "Gone to bed. He's a stubborn as I am but I finally managed to convince him."

Jim helped Gibbs pull out the bed. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Just did." Gibbs tossed the blankets and pillows on the bed.

"Huh, Tim was right about you." Gibbs turned and glared at Jim "Don't worry, he's got nothin' but good things to say. Anyway, You think we're gonna get Jake and Angela back?"

Jims question threw Gibbs and the older man had no idea what he was going to say. Finally, after a minute, he offered the best he could think of to say: "I don't know but we're going to give it a damn good try. McGee's one of us Jim, and when he's hurting then so are we."

With that comment, Gibbs retreated to the kitchen and left Jim standing there gaping at the solidarity that the team seemed to show towards his cousin. He'd spoken to Tim a few times during his career at NCIS and couldn't believe that Tim had actually managed to gain a small family outside of the one that he'd already had; sure Tim had issues and felt as though he was still standing on the sidelines of that tight knit entity, but all in all he enjoyed his job and the people he worked with. Maybe It was a front, Jim didn't know, but what he did know, was that everyone was rallying around for Tim now and ultimately, that was all that mattered.

Gibbs picked up the coffee pot and silently thanked his father for replacing that old couch earlier on in the year. It had been a belated Christmas present that was bought purely because Jackson had complained that the old one played havoc on his back and he never wanted the displeasure of sleeping on it again. Jethro remembered laughing warmly when Jackson turned up half an hour after it had been delivered and had pulled his father into a tight hug of appreciation at the gesture and expense. Right now, it was going to come in more useful than his dear old dad would ever know.

As Gibbs finished getting a fresh cup of coffee, he heard footsteps going up the stairs; he headed out of the kitchen to see Jim taking the last two with a certain air of grace that parents seemed to acquire when they didn't want to wake their children. Sighing heavily, Gibbs followed, knowing that Jim had gone in search of his wife so he could check on both her and her cousin. Wanting to check on the young man as well, he followed the younger man up the stairs and into the bedroom where Tim was sitting up in bed calmly as his cousin spoke softly to him.

Gibbs stood in the doorway and watched as Anna's voice soothed and calmed his agent; he had no idea what she was saying and her voice was so soft that all he could distinguish was the soft murmur of a kindly feminine voice. He stole a glance at Tim and for the first time since his parent' 'house, the kid looked as though the shock had subsided enough for him to relax slightly; for that, Gibbs was eternally grateful.

"Hey." Jim moved behind his wife and placed his large hands on her shoulders "How're you two doing?"

"We're alright. I can't convince my stubborn cousin to get some sleep though." Anna's admonishing tone didn't go amiss with Tim who looked slightly abashed at the perception that he was deliberately being difficult.

"M'not tired." He quietly tried to explain.

"You're not? So that's why you're slurring your words and look like hell. Tim McGee, you need to rest so lay down and do what I say."

Gibbs hadn't noticed that Anna's left hand was entwined with Tim's and stood there transfixed at the scene playing out in front of him.

"I can't, Anna. Everytime I close my eyes….." Tim felt his throat constrict as the tears threatened to fall "Anna, I see them. I can't stop it and I see them only now I know it's real and I don't know what to do."

"Tim, we've just been through this. You're not going to be any good to them if you land yourself in hospital. I need you to at least try."

Gibbs walked into the room and stood at the foot of the bed.

"Listen to her, McGee. Duck's given you something to help you sleep and I want you to take them." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the sleeping tablets that Ducky had left on the kitchen counter "You're gonna take them, and then you're gonna get some sleep. No arguments, McGee."

Tim blanched at the authoritative tone and watched as Gibbs handed Anna the tablets.

"Here." She shook two out of the bottle and pressed them firmly into Tim's hand. "Swallow them, there's some water on the nightstand."

Tim obeyed and took the tablets. It wasn't long before they took effect and Gibbs found himself helping Jim ease his agent down.

"Thanks. Listen, you two go and get some sleep. I'm gonna sit here with him so he's not gonna be alone."

"No! I'm staying with my cou…." Anna tried to argue the point because she wanted to sit with Tim.

"Look, there's a troubled little girl downstairs who is pickin' up on the atmosphere around here. She's not gonna settle properly if she wakes up in a strange house and someone she doesn't know. Trust me, I'll stay with Tim."

"Ok, but you'll come wake me if you need me right?"

"Sure." Gibbs nodded and watched Jim usher Anna out of the room. He settled into the chair to start his vigil and sat back deep in thought about the events that he had witnessed.

An hour later, Tim started to show signs of a nightmare. Gibbs moved and sat on the edge of the bed and placed a supportive hand on his agent's shoulder.

"Easy Tim. Come on, it's just a dream." The words sounded hollow to Gibbs' ears and even though Tim needed to hear them, the fact that his nightmares had been a pre-curser of things to come previously worried him.

"NO…..Sarah no…Don't! Leave them alone…No…..Dad!...LEAVE THEM ALONE!"

Tim sat bolt upright in the bed and was shaking like a leaf. His skin was coated with a fine sheen of sweat that matted his hair to his forehead; he looked as though he had been to hell and back and it was all Gibbs could do to stop from hitting the wall out of sheer frustration.

"Hey, McGee. You alright." Gibbs asked him quietly when Tim started looking around him in a slightly disorientated state.

The young man suddenly seemed to be able to focus as Gibbs' words filtered through his mind. As if the words had flipped a switch, Tim turned to his boss and proceeded to crumble under the stress and pressure of the last week.

"Boss…..Oh God, Boss." Tim dissolved into floods of tears, leaving Gibbs with no choice but to wrap his arms around him and hold him until the convulsive sobbing finished.

"It's alright, Tim. I've got you. That's it, let it all out."

Tony sat in Abby's lab staring at the laptop. Abby had tried to hack into the machine but everytime she had, she'd been stonewalled by either the laptop's firewall or the camera feed starting again.

"Hey, Abbs?" Abby turned towards Tony and sighed heavily "Is there a way of tracking the signal at all. I mean, If we can pinpoint…."

"Tony! How many times? I can't do it. He's routing through so may different servers that I can't get a firm lock on where it's coming from."

"_Ahh, my technical skills have thwarted NCIS finest. Now that is a triumph in its own right. Next to capturing your agents family that is." _Tony and Abby spun round towards the laptop and gazed at the screen.

"_You know, your little exploits have had dire consequences I'm afraid. Maybe next time you won't be so careless in your approach."_

"Careless? We haven't been careless."

"_Oh but you have, you see, taking the laptop away from the place I left it was a careless move and one that you have paid the price for."_

They watched with horror as the camera panned out before zooming into Sarah's listless body.

"_This pretty young thing won't know what has hit her soon. My drug has take effect and I can assure you, that if there is another inconsistency, then I will do more than what I already have."_

The connection went dead leaving them feeling stunned and soccer punched.

"We've got to find them Tony. We've just got to." Abby threw herself into Tony arms and sobbed. It wasn't the first time since Tony had arrived and he honestly didn't know what he could do to pacify her. It didn't help that Ziva had gone back to the squad room to start the investigation on that end.

"We will Abbs, we will." He soothed "We've got to."


	14. Chapter 13

Gibbs sat in the bedroom watching Tim sleep fitfully. The only saving grace right about now, was the fact that whenever his agent started to toss and turn, all it took was a firm hand to the shoulder and some soothing words to calm him down. He guessed it had something to do with the sedative numbing Tim's mind slightly and knew it was only a matter of time before these incidents became full blown, tormenting nightmares once again.

Glancing at his watch, the team leader winced at the time. Three hours had passed; three long hours since he held Tim in his arms and let the boy sob himself into oblivion as the meds that Ducky gave him finally took hold and helped him slip into a less than restful slumber. Gibbs glanced out the window and saw the first vestiges of dawn starting to creep in; the sky had turned from inky black to navy blue and left the agent feeling more exhausted than ever. He was drawn out of his thoughts by his cell phone ringing, making him panic slightly whilst he fumbled for the thing that was guaranteed to wake Tim.

"Boss..." Too late. The sound of the phone ringing woke Tim up, leaving him feeling foggy and disorientated in the dark bedroom.

"Sorry, McGee. I should have turned it off." Gibbs reached out and firmly laid his hand back on the shaking, young man's shoulder. "How you doing?"

"Shouldn't…answer it?" The reply was slurred and thick with sleep.

"Probably. You should get more sleep, Tim." Gibbs stood and watched as Tim's exhaustion dragged him under once again. Gibbs squeezed the young man's shoulder again and left the room to return the call he'd just missed. He was soon settled on the porch with a mug of strong black coffee in his hand; he sipped at it and sighed as he hit the redial button.

"_DiNozzo."_

"What's up, DiNozzo." Gibbs sighed at the sound of his Senior Agent's voice and hoped he had something to tell him.

"_Hey, Boss. How's McGee?"_

"Sleeping. You have something for me?" He directed the conversation back to business knowing that they had limited time to actually solve this case before Tim's family truly suffered.

"_We've been at it all night, Boss. Abby's been...Boss, she's not doing so well. She got the laptop set up in the lab when the scumbag connected again." _Tony went silent for a moment but carried on before Gibbs could talk. _"You know that son ova...Abby said he's routing the signal through proxies; whatever the hell that means. She pulled up a map and showed me where the signals going; boss, it's going through that many countries, he's collecting frequent flier miles; without leaving the U.S.A."_

"Focus, DiNozzo."

"_Sorry, Boss. Anyway, She can't get a lock on the signal..."_

"What the hell did he say? Quit beating around the damn bush and fill me in." Gibbs was getting seriously impatient at Tony's ramblings and was itching to know what the guy said.

"_Sorry, Boss. He was basically happy about thwarting NCIS with his technical skills and was pissed about the laptop being moved. He said there would be 'dire consequences'."_

"_W_hat kind of consequences?"

"_He drugged Sarah and told us that if we interfere again, then he would do more than he already has. I don't know what to do; we've hit a dead end."_

Gibbs shook his head and huffed out a sigh of sheer frustration.

"Where's Abby?"

"_In her office hugging Bert. She's not doing well." _Tony couldn't help the dejected, pain that interjected his voice.

"I know. Tell you what, you can' do anything else so how about you both come over here and get some rest."

"Sure. I'll go get Abbs and we'll b there in 20." Tony hung up and Gibbs was left sitting there to stew in his own thoughts. He had no idea how long it had been, but the shy soon changed to soft, ducky tones as the day tried to push its way through.

"JETHRO!" Gibbs startled at Ducky's shouted tones and dropped the coffee mug he had been holding onto the deck. He took the stairs two at a time and was soon pushing his way into Tim's bedroom. What he saw made his breath catch in his throat; laying on the floor, covered in a cold sweat, was Tim; beside him, Ducky was kneeling down beside Tim to offer some comfort.

"What the hell happened?" He rushed over to his friend's side and knelt down.

"He was in the throes of a nightmare and must have fallen out of bed. He's fine, Jethro. No injuries but he is in shock again."

"McGee. Hey, wake up!" Gibbs glanced at Ducky with a deep frown creasing his forehead "He still asleep?"

"I'm afraid so. He didn't truly wake up and now I'm struggling to rouse him. I think we need to get him to Bethesda because this is far beyond my capacity." Ducky looked saddened and slightly panicked at not being able to help Tim.

"He's cold. Damn it! Duck I have an idea about what this one was about and I need to talk to him. Can you treat him here?"

"Well, yes but..."

"Go and run a hot bath and i'll keep trying to wake him up."

Ducky nodded and stood up with a solemn look on his face. He took one last glance at Tim before standing up to do what he had been asked.

"Duck. Trust me."

" I do, Jethro and that's what I'm worried about right about now." With that, he walked into the bathroom and started to run the bath.

"McGee! Snap out of it!" There was no response besides Tim's shaking worsening "Damn it. McGee, Grab your gear!"

Tim's eyes snapped open but were unfocussed and glassy.

"Look at me, Tim!" Gibb's put his finger under Tim's chin and pulled his agent's face around so that he could look him directly in the eye "You're safe, but we need to warm you up. You tracking me McGee?"

"Boss?"

"I'm here. Come on, let's get you up." He put his arms round Tim's body and helped lift the young man off the carpeted yet, unyielding floor. He heard Tim gasp and felt his agent's hands tighten their grip on his biceps as a wave of dizziness washed over him.

"Easy there, McGee. We need to get you into the bathroom so on my count."

"No...Please, just a minute. Don't feel so good."

"I know you don't, but we need to get you warmed up." Gibbs waited until Tim's breathing was steadier and the man's tenuous grip on his arms loosened enough to let him know that he was calming down. "Come on." Gibbs stood up slowly and gently lifted Tim before supporting his surrogate son to the bathroom.

It took a good half hour for Tim to warm up and he was soon back in bed wearing his thick sweatpants and one of Gibbs' warm sweaters. He was totally ensconced in blankets; despite their efforts, Tim still trembled violently but was more lucid than he had been a few minutes ago.

"Alright, my dear boy. You're BP is nowhere near where I'd like it but all in all, you are not doing to badly. If you get worse, Timothy, then I'm afraid you will be going to Bethesda _willingly._" Ducky took the cuff of Tim's arm and placed it on the nightstand. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired."

"Well that's to be expected." He was cut short by a distant knocking on the front door.

"Stay with him, Duck, It's probably Tony and Abby. Is there anything you want me to bring up?"

"Hot, sweet tea and some breakfast for Timothy please, Jethro."

"Sure." Gibbs turned on his heels and went down to answer the door. He wasn't surprised to see Tony standing there with his arm around Abby. She was sobbing silently whilst holding...

"Is that the laptop? What the hell, Abbs?"

"I couldn't just leave it there. It's been running but he hasn't got in touch since..." She hiccoughed on a sob "Since he did that to Sarah...I...I just can't leave it alone, Gibbs, I need to set it up again." Gibbs looked at the face of his favourite girl and saw the anguished pain that she was feeling shining bright in her eyes.

"Kitchen. Jim and Anna are sleeping in the den so it's the only place for it." Abby slipped past him and headed towards the kitchen to set everything up. "and Abbs. Be quiet about it because they've got their little girl with them and she was in bed late last night."

"Ok." Abby carried on and soon disappeared into the room which would house the laptop.

"Come on Tony, I'll buy you a coffee."

"Cute, Boss. Real cute." Tony felt his boss' hand connect with the back of his head and smiled ruefully at the familiar behaviour.

"I'm serious, DiNozzo. I need decent coffee and I didn't get the chance to pick up my blend. I need decent coffee." Gibbs fixed Tony with a stern glare and grabbed his keys off the sideboard next to the front door "Go tell Abbs where were going and ask her to make McGee some breakfast and hot, sweet tea."

"Sure, Boss. Is it that bad that Probie needs sweet tea?"

"It's bad enough and it's doctor's orders DiNozzo. Get goin'." Tony padded off to the kitchen giving the team leader with the opportunity to slip out of the house to sit in the car and wait. There was something he wanted to talk to Tony about; something private that he didn't want anyone else to hear. He was so drawn into his own mind, that he didn't hear Tony open the car door.

"Boss?" Tony's voice drew him out of his thoughts "You okay?"

"You ready?"

Tony nodded and it wasn't long before they were both at the coffee shop ordering their drinks. '_Good job their open this early or the boss would be pissy as hell' _was all Tony could think as they picked up their coffee and the bag of beans Gibbs had ordered.

"Sit down, Tony."

"Don't we need to get back?" Tony looked at Gibbs in confusion.

"I need to talk to ya in private." Gibbs sat down and placed his cup on the table in front of him. "I need you to go through some records for me. Vance doesn't think it's worth doing, but I want to cover all eventualities."

Tony scruitinized his boss with wary eyes and nodded sharply.

"I want you to search back through the cases that McGee's led. There's bound to be something useful in there. Look into his family's past too."

"This need to be covert?"

"No. It's official" Gibbs watched as Tony's eyes narrowed slightly.

Anything else?"

"Yeah, Tim's colleagues outside of the team. There are a couple at Norfolk that have a problem with him and I know for a fact the cyber geeks hated having him as their boss. They saw it as a fall from grace and were bitter when he came back upstairs to me. I wanna know why and how deep this goes. Tony, I don't want this being dragged through official channels because we're supposed to concentrate on finding the family and Vance won't be happy about us digging into NCIS personnel."

"Sure, Boss. I'm guessing he's putting another team on."

"I don't know DiNozzo. I've got a meeting with him later, but I'm sure as hell not going to quit workin' the case now. Just keep that part under your hat for now. I don't want Leon thinking we're trying to assign blame on his people."

Tony nodded and sipped at his coffee.

"What about Ziva?"

"Get her to help but keep Abbs out of this. She's having a hard time with it right about now and I don't want her being more upset than she is."

"Got it, Boss."

Jim woke up feeling stiff and sore after an eventful night on the sofa bed with his wife. Izzy had been restless all night and was finally sleeping peacefully in between her parents.

"Morning, Honey."

"Morning. Damn this thing's hard." Anna yawned widely before pulling the covers up further over her shoulders "Tim up?"

"I don't know. I heard movement and a thump on the ceiling so I'm guessing there's signs of life somewhere up there." Jim frowned when his cell phone rang.

"Jenkins."

"_Howdy, Pardner. Up and at 'em because we've got a busy day."_

"Damn, Rogers. Where the hell are you?"

"_Outside your house, so open up!"_

Jim sighed heavily and shook his head with exasperation.

"My house?" Anna cocked her head in her husband's direction.

"_Well, not quite. The chief gave me the addre..."_

"You're in D.C.?" He shot up of the bed and moved towards the window. When he pulled the curtain back, he saw his partner leaning against his parked car. "What the hell, Andrew?"

"_Come on, let me in!"_

Jim snapped his phone shut and threw on a pair of sweat pants; it wasn't long before he was moving to the front door to let Andy in. Unbeknownst to him, someone menacing lurked outside; someone that could potentially, turn his family's life upside down even more than it already was.

He finally reached the front door and sighed heavily. He had no idea why his bull headed, irritating partner come best friend had deemed it necessary to travel to Washington and truth be known, he didn't really care. It was another one of the man's quirks that often enough, proved pointless but strangely comforting. He opened the door and grinned at the way Andy leaned against the door frame casually.

"Andy, if you wanted to see me this badly I could have sent you picture off my phone."

"Yeah? Damn, could have saved myself a fortune in gas." Andy slipped past and entered the house "In all honesty, the big man sent me down here to offer support and bring your guys this."

"My guys?" Jim took the manila file and opened it up to see the reports of their findings.

"NCIS, man you really need to keep up." That comment earned him a friendly thump on the arm. "They found anything?"

"Not yet but..."

"Oh, Hi. Who are you?" Abby had walked out of the kitchen with a tray laden with food, orange juice and coffee in her hand. She regarded the two men standing in the hallway with a cautious eye; She spotted the one wearing nothing but a pair of sweats and grinned "Well you must be McGee's cousin in law. Jim, Right?"

"The one and the same. And you are?" Jim smiled back at the gothic looking woman standing in front of him. Sure, she was...Quirky, but she had a warm face and amazing green eyes that seemed to welcome him.

"Abby Scuito. I work for Gibbs in the Forensic Lab. Who's your friend?"

"Miss. Scuito, this is my partner Andrew Rogers. He missed me so decided to take a field trip."

"Glad to meet you both. I've just made breakfast for Tim. I've just boiled the kettle; no good coffee i'm afraid, but you're welcome to help yourself to instant." Abby started to climb the stairs but stopped mid way up "Just, don't touch the laptop."

"Sure thing Mi..."

"Abby. You can call me Abby."

"Abby it is then. Thanks." Jim grinned at her and ushered Andrew into the kitchen. He set about making the instant coffee and didn't notice Andy regarding the laptop with unhealthy interest until he turned to hand his partner the drink.

"Don't touch that Andy. It looks like the one from the house."

"Yeah. It's kind of creepy when you think about it." Andy scowled slightly before sitting down.

"Sure is. I can't believe that sick bastard has got the family. Tim's a mess and had nightmares again last night."

"How do you know. You sleep like the dead!" Jim laughed at his friend's statement and shook his head.

"Not on an unfamiliar bed that is guaranteed to give me backache and a kid who seems to wanna take up the whole damn mattress. For someone so damn tiny, she sure likes to sprawl." Jim chuckled to himself at the memory of his wife getting up and trying to soothe the whimpering child. Izzy simply wasn't having any of it and so ended up in their bed.

"You gotta love the little Izzy Bell. For such a short fry she sure lets the world know she's there."

"You got that right." Jim ran his hand over his face wearily "Anyway, heard Tim screaming and a thud on the ceiling which didn't sound too good. Gibbs came down the stairs and must have gone out because he's not here."

"No, he went to get some decent coffee." The two men jumped at the gruff voice that rang through the quiet kitchen. "Sleep alright, Jim?"

"Not really. I'm not used to a hard mattress and my little princess was hell-bent on kicking me out last night."

Gibbs chuckled slightly and put the beans down next to the grinder.

"My dad like's a firm mattress. So do I." Gibbs didn't offer any more of an explanation and set about grinding some of his favourite blend so he could make a decent coffee. "McGee up yet?"

"Haven't seen him, but an interesting young lady going by Abby took him some breakfast up."

"Good. So, when did you get here Rogers?" Gibbs turned and eyed the young man that sat in one of the kitchen chairs. The kid couldn't have been more than twenty one and he was mildy surprised that he was partnered with Tim's 30 year old, cousin.

"Bout half hour ago. Dropped that off." Andy pointed to the file on the table "Chief thought you might find it interesting."

"Why?"

"Our geeks went through that house with a fine tooth comb and found some trace. Guess he wants to keep the inter-departmental relations good, so thought he'd share."

"Fair enough. You gotta get back to work soon?" Gibbs kept his gaze fixed on Andy. He hadn't noticed it before, but there was something oddly familiar about him.

"No sir. I've got the day off so I'm going to stick around for a couple of hours if that's alright?"

"Fine by me." Gibbs turned back to the coffee machine and added the fresh grinds. The face rang a bell, _but from where? _Maybe it was from last night. He doubted it but kept quiet as he prepared the coffee. _Maybe the kid's just got one of those faces._He turned and offered a rueful smile.

"I'm gonna go check on McGee. Abby should be down here too because I don't want that laptop left alone." He let himself glance at the horrible object of pain "Jim, keep an eye on it for me will ya? And if that daughter of yours comes in, don't let her near it because if that sick S.O.B transmits again then she doesn't need to see her family like that. Anna too, don't want her being upset."

"Gotcha."

Gibbs walked into the bedroom holding the fresh mug of coffee and frowned at the sight of Abby laying on the bed with her head on Tim's shoulder. His agent looked better; still a little pale and obviously shaky, but he was alert.

"You gonna eat that McGee?" Gibbs nodded towards the plate of food that perched on Tim's knee "and you should be downstairs with that laptop, Abby."

"But, Gibbs..."

"No buts, Abbs. Go, you were only supposed to bring him some food, not leave the damn thing alone all this time." Abby sat up and kissed Tim on the cheek before standing up and stalking downstairs.

"Tim? You need to eat."

"Not hungry." Tim's eyes dropped to look at the plate of food. Even the mere thought of eating set his stomach off on a rollercoaster ride of nausea.

"Uh-huh. You know Duck's on the verge of admitting you to Bethesda?"

"I won't go. I need to be here and help out where I can."

"You think you can do that when you can barely function because you're too damn tired and sick from not eating. Damn it McGee, just eat your damn breakfast and then we'll talk, alright?"

Tim picked up the spoon and played with the oatmeal that Abby had made; sure, it looked good, it had the swirl of honey that he liked on it and it was the perfect consistency; but, he just couldn't bring himself to eat it.

"Boss, please." Gibbs sighed at the quiet plea and reached over to take the tray. He was pleased to see that Abby had the good sense to make him some juice and pressed the glass into his surrogate son's hand.

"Fine, but at least get some sugar into you. Drink!"

Tim raised the glass to his lips and soon drained the glass, he had been thirstier than he thought.

"Better?"

Tim nodded and leaned his head back against the headboard.

"They're not coming back are they." It wasn't a question, it wasn't even a rhetorical question; no, it was a statement; a resignation that he had lost his family despite them still being alive. The sheer pain and loss that he saw in those expressive eyes broke down his last little bit of stoicism.

"You don't know that, Tim. We're doing the best we can."

"What if it's not good enough? What if we can't help them?" Tim's eyes glossed over with the tears that threatened to fall leaving Gibbs with no option but to go over and scoop Tim up in his arms once again.

"We will. We'll get them back."

The figure glanced over at his captive audience and smiled wickedly. The three McGee's sat there, tied up and scared witless over the predicament he had them in. _Hmm, what can I do now?_

It had surprised him at first and he had no idea how pleasurable revenge; _Ahh sweet revenge; _could be. In his mind, he was righting a wrong that had been done and he didn't really care how he went about it. He walked over to Sarah and saw that she was now awake and relatively lucid.

"Ahh Miss. McGee, I see you are awake. You are a bright girl I understand. You study poetry, correct? Then you'll recognise this one my dear _'__Do you not see how necessary a world of pains and troubles is to school an intelligence and make it a soul?_It embodies exactly what we are trying to achieve here, don't you think?_"_

Sarah raised her head and looked him directly in the eye.

"John Keats and I don't think this was what he had in mind when he wrote that somehow." There was a swoosh of air that hissed by before she felt the sting of his palm as it connected with her cheek. There were muffled screams from her parents as they struggled against both the bonds and the gags in their mouths. Sarah laughed dryly. "You want to try this one on for size? I know what it means to me, you? I'm not so sure: '"_I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the heart's affections, and the truth of imagination', _It's one of my favourite quote of all time. Tell me, what does it say to you?"

The devil moved back and pondered the quote knowing exactly why she had chosen that one; Tim loved her and would do anything within his power to get them back; his heart was pure and that fact gave him the edge and the imagination to move forward and find them.

"I know what it means to you, and I'm sure you can tell young Timothy that when you see him next. It's won't be long now." With that, he replaced the gag that he had removed when he'd drugged her and moved over to the laptop that sat opposite them all. He pulled up a word document and started to type.

"**The observer, when he seems to himself to be observing a stone, is really, if physics is to be believed, observing the effects of the stone upon himself. - Bertrand Russell"**

He printed it out and held it up in front of the camera before pressing the button to transmit his message.

"_Oh my God! Jim, he's back!" _Oh the Gothic looking one. He loved her; had done from the beginning.

"_Get Gibbs!"_

"Hmm, do you like my little message. Sarah asked me what her favourite quote meant to me and It got me thinking. This is one of my favourites; tell me, does it have the same connotations? I sincerely hope so. But then again, I don't think you'll see much more in my message than what it is." He moved to the side and pulled the paper away from the camera so that it showed the three McGee's bound and gagged.

"Time, ah sweet Time. How long do you think they are going to last I wonder. Who knows, hopefully they are stronger than you think. This is a warning to you all, I have already had my fun with Sarah there; She's quite the beauty. But my fun won't be limited anymore."

"_You bastard! You honestly think you're gonna get away with this?" _Gibbs' face filled the screen, eliciting a snort of amusement from the tormenter.

"Agent Gibbs! So nice to see you again. Tell me, how is young Timothy doing?"

"_Like you care. What the hell do you want?"_

"You ask that a lot and yet you are no closer to the answers that you seek."

"_Huh! Well, seeing as you like your quotes so damn much, i'm throwing mine into the mix: '__Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.__'."_

"Napoleon Bonaparte. I take your warning and heed your word; the question is, when you strike will you be on time?" He cut the connection and grinned. Turning back to his less than captive audience, he laughed out loud and picked up the bat that had been propped up against the table.

"Now our little battle of wits is over, I believe some discipline is in order." He pulled on his mask and hit the transmit button again. He walked over to Tim's dad and swung the bat at the older man's other knee. It came down with a crack and the muffled scream rang through the room, bringing with it cries from both the bound women and the people watching through the laptop.

"_No! Dad!...why?"_

The devil turned and stood looking at the laptop; Tim's face swam into view.

"Because I can Timothy; no more, no less. Just because I can."


	15. Chapter 14

_Now our little battle of wits is over, I believe some discipline is in order." He pulled on his mask and hit the transmit button again. He walked over to Tim's dad and swung the bat at the older man's other knee. It came down with a crack and the muffled scream rang through the room, bringing with it cries from both the bound women and the people watching through the laptop._

"_No! Dad!...why?"_

_The devil turned and stood looking at the laptop; Tim's face swam into view._

_"Because I can Timothy; no more, no less. Just because I can."_

The air in the room was thick with shock and appal at the scene that they had just witnessed. The laptop had once again gone dark, leaving them all standing there in silence; the only sound they all heard being the crack of bone as the bat connected with Jacob's knee.

Tim stood there staring at the laptop with a look of sheer abject horror at the things he saw and at that moment, he felt the shock fade to something else; something much more dangerous..._rage. _Gibbs saw the expression on his young agents face contort as the muscles tensed and his Jaw clenched so tight that it made Gibbs cringe. He stepped forward and clamped his hand down tight on Tim's shoulder to try to ground him.

"McGee..."

Tim whirled around and managed to slip away from the firm hand and grabbed one of the empty glasses that sat on the counter.

"The heartless, selfish bastard. What the hell does he mean by 'because I can'?" Tim threw the glass against the wall and watched as it smashed into hundreds of little shards. It wasn't enough to calm him down though and he carried on with his rant totally oblivious to the people around him. "I can't do anything but stand by and watch my family being tortured by some maniac who thinks he's got free rein _BECAUSE HE CAN? _In what world is that ever GONNA BE RIGHT?_"_

Gibbs wasn't quick enough to stop the next step in this rapidly declining chain of events and was sickened when he heard the crack of bone as Tim's fist connected with the hardwood doorframe. Everyone gasped with horror and started to move forward to help, but were stopped by Gibbs' open hand being held out to halt them.

"MCGEE!"

"As if it's not enough that I dream about it I get to watch it as well. Son of a..." Tim swung at the doorframe again but was stopped by a firm hand gripping his wrist.

"ENOUGH! McGee stand down!" Gibbs was glaring at Tim and could see the moment when the fight completely dissipated out of his agent; it wasn't pleasant to watch and he felt his gut twist when Tim backed up to the wall and slid down it.

"Ow."

"Quite, Timothy. Let me see." Ducky had gone back to the bedroom to rest once Abby walked in with breakfast for Tim; he knew that the loveable Goth would have more of a chance of bringing Tim out of his slump and wanted to give them both some room to talk. He hadn't noticed himself dozing off and had been startled by Tim's loud voice as his shouting filtered through the floor. "Ach, I do believe a trip to Bethesda is in order; we need to get this x-rayed. Honestly young man, what on earth were you thinking?"

Tim banged his head back against the wall and closed his eyes; he hadn't been thinking, that was the real kicker; all he knew was that he was angry and needed some kind of release for his tormenting emotions. He had simply just seen red and took his anger out on the poor defenceless glass and the solid, unforgiving hardwood doorframe.

"I lost my temper."

"And the fight too as it would seem. A word to the wise, Timothy; in the USA the walls tend to be made out of plaster board so if you are going to hit anything, then the architrave is not a good place to start." Ducky glanced at Tim's face and saw two very confused, pale green eyes staring back at him; it only took a couple of minutes before Tim chuckled slightly and shook his head.

"Dare I ask."

"If you don't, then I sure as hell will." Gibbs' exasperated tone bore evidence of his frustration at the whole situation "Of for the...Duck, what the heck are architraves?"

"What? Oh sorry, I just can't help but slip into the native British terminology. You know, I was at university with a chap from Arkansas and it took him a while to acclimatise to our little local terms. I believe the boot of a car was one that..."

"DUCKY!" Gibbs swiped his hand through his hair "AND WHAT THE HELL IS THE BOOT OF THE CAR?"

"Oh dear, I apologize. Architrave is what I believe you call the doorframe and the boot of the car is the trunk. Sorry, Timothy. I do get sidelined. Now young man, can you bend those fingers for me?"

Tim tried to bend his fingers but hissed when pain shot through his hand and wrist.

"I take that as a no then. Do you think you can stand because if I remember rightly it was not too long ago that you were in so deeply in shock that I was going to admit you to Bethesda. No doubt this little exhibition has lef..."

"I can stand." Tim accented his answer with a nod "I'm alright. Really. Sorry guys, guess I lost it there for a minute."

"I think I would too if I was in your position, Tim. Come on." Jim reached down and helped Tim stand. Once he was sure that his cousin wouldn't topple sideways, he glanced at the door and shook his head.

"Come on in, Anna. I know it's killing you being out there." The door opened and Anna walked in carrying a very subdued Isabelle.

"Hey there, Izzy. How's my girl?" Jim reached out and lifted his daughter out of his wife's arms. He kissed his daughter on the forehead and turned to look at Anna. "You okay, baby?"

"Am _I_ alright? I heard Tim having a tantrum and you're asking if I'm alright?"

"I wasn't having a tantrum; I lost my temper!" Tim's defensive voice carried over to Anna and she was about to answer back when she saw Ducky securing a sling on his left arm.

"Oh, Tim. What lost?" She moved over to him and reached up to cup his face "It's not like you, cousin dearest. You're the mild mannered one of the family, remember."

"I can't always be that person, Anna." Tim offered her a small smile and leaned into her touch.

"No, you can't. But you can let us help. What happened?"

"He...there was another transmission. My dad; Anna he hurt my dad."

Anna's eyes widened at the revelation and she had to fight to keep her anger in check at the sight of her distressed cousin.

"Oh, Tim. Come here." She pulled him into her arms but jumped back at the hiss of pain that escaped Tim's lips. "Sorry. I forgot. You okay?"

"Not really, no." Tim shook his head and finally glanced around the room at the shocked faces of the people that stood there. "Sorry, guys."

Gibbs looked at Tim and knew that he desperately needed some kind of rescue.

"Duck, get him to Bethesda. Abby, keep working on that damn laptop. Jim, you and your partner need to report back to your captain. You can use my phone. I'm going to go speak to Ziva and DiNozzo to see where they are." Gibbs stormed out of the room with his cell phone in his hand.

"Right, my boy. Come on then."

"I, er...I might need..."

"what is it, Timothy?" Ducky looked at Tim standing there with a pained pinch on his face.

"What if he contacts us again?" Tim hung his head down to the floor and sighed heavily.

"Then there are other people there to help. Please, I believe you have broken your hand and it needs to be looked at."

Tim was ushered out of the door with a heavy heart and heard everyone bustling about behind them. With a furtive look behind him he followed Ducky to the car to get his hand tended to.

"_DiNozzo." _Tony's voice was tired when he answered the phone; a signal that Gibbs' gut was right and his agents had managed to pull an all nighter to help Tim.

"How're you doin' DiNozzo. You been up all night?"

"_Boss. Um, yeah. Me and Ziva have been goi...Hey...Sorry, someone from legal walked past. Me and Ziva have been going through the files like you asked and so far the geeks are clean as whistles. I'm trying to figure out a way of going down there to speak to them."_

"What about the cases? Anything show up there?" Gibbs was antsy and knew that it was coming across in his voice.

"_There's a few things that have come up. None of them give us a good reason for kidnapping Probie's family."_

"Yeah, well keep digging. There's gotta be something there."

"_Boss, you okay." _Tony could hear the stress in Gibbs' voice and had started to worry.

"Not really. There was another transmission and McGee's dad got a bat round the kneecaps again. I've sent McGee to Bethesda with Duck."

"_What? Why?"_ Gibbs pulled the phone away from his ear at Tony's loud exclamations.

"Because, DiNozzo. Apparently watching your father being kneecapped by a baseball bat can cause some people to get angry. He broke his hand on my doorframe."Gibbs' frustrated tone rang through the phone but he knew that Tony wouldn't take it personally.

"_Probie punched a doorframe? Damn it! Please tell me he didn't use his..."_

"Yeah, he used his left hand. Look, this isn't helping. Get the files together you need and bring them to my house where we can look over them while you and Ziva get some rest." Gibbs remembered the fact that they had been up all night and felt a pang of guilt and pride at their dedication.

"_Boss, we're good. Prob..."_

"DiNozzo! You are no good to anyone if you do an slipshod job because you are too tired to even think! We're one man down because McGee is off the case. Bring me the files; bring me some coffee and you and Ziva can use my spare rooms to get some damn rest." He flipped the phone shut and ended the call before Tony could protest. Scrubbing his hand over his gritty eyes, Gibbs turned and made his way back into the kitchen to speak to his houseguests.

Ducky sat on the small plastic chair in the exam room waiting for Tim to arrive back from x ray. He had an inkling that the hand was broken but still held that little bit of hope that the film would come back clear. He was torn out of his thoughts by Tim walking in with the Doctor.

". I'm afraid Tim here has managed to break his fourth and fifth metatarsals as well as fracture the hamate and the capitates bones in his wrist." The doctor walked up to the lightbox on the wall and clipped the x-rays to them. "As you can see, the metacarpals are clean breaks but the wrist bones have only got hairline fractures. We're lucky they are still aligned."

Ducky looked over the films and frowned heavily; he knew that the only saving grace in this was the fact that the bones would heal with a simple cast.

"Well Timothy, looks like you will be wearing a plaster cast for six weeks. What possessed you?" Ducky knew he was repeating the question that Tim had answered earlier; he understood the fact that his young friend had seen red; what he didn't understand is why Tim deemed it necessary to take his anger out on something that caused this much damage.

"I wasn't thinking. Ducky we've been through this. Please, I just want to get out of here." Tim's tired, pleading tone worried the M.E. so he turned to scrutinize his friend. Tim was sitting there rubbing at his eyes with the heel of his right hand and looked like the perfect picture of abject misery.

"Well, yes, of course. Sorry. Doctor, how long before I can take him home?" The young doctor glanced up at Ducky and smiled.

"We'll get his arm casted and he'll be on his way with analgesics in no time. Tim, you got any allergies that we should know about?"

"Not that I know of." Tim's eyes didn't leave the floor as he answered.

"Alright then. Someone will be in shortly." She took the films down and put them in their protective wallets before leaving the room.

"Timothy. How are you really doing?"

Tim sighed heavily and shook his head before answering. It was something that he hadn't really thought about because somehow, he had managed to block it out in lieu of his injuries.

"He hurt my dad Ducky. It's not just that, Sarah's at risk of being...He wants her and it's all because he can, apparently. What did they do to deserve this? I can't do this; I can't watch them all suffer and die." Tim's voice was practically a whisper at the end and all of a sudden sheer, bone deep exhaustion crept over him. "What do I do?"

"You do the one thing that your family would want you to do." At Tim's questioning glance the M.E. sighed "You fight. You help your team find him and you fight for your family. If you lose that Timothy, then you lose a part of yourself that you may never get back. The guilt will consume you and when your family is rescued, you will be of no help to them what so ever."

"I know you are right, Ducky. It's just really hard. Seeing the people I love hurting and being tortured like that is just..."

"Hard. I know Timothy." Ducky rested his hands on Tim's shoulders and waited for Tim to look him directly in the eye "That, my dear boy, is what we are here for. Let your other family help and guide you. Let us take some of the burden because you are never going to be alone."

Tim nodded but was saved from answering by the nurse coming in with the supplies for plastering his arm.

"What do you say we get this over and done with so we can talk over a coffee?"

"Sounds good." Tim laid back on the gurney and let the nurse tend to him. It was done in complete silence; something that gave Tim time to sit back and think about how he was going to get through this unscathed.

Tony and Ziva walked through Gibbs' front door feeling the weight of sleep deprivation weighting heavily down on them. Tony was carrying a pile of files that they had carefully sifted through and Ziva carried three coffees and a cafpow for everyone.

"Hey, Boss. Here's the files you wanted." Tony handed them over and walked into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water out of the fridge. "Oh, hey."

"Tony!" Abby jumped up and ran over to Tony to throw her arms around his neck. "I missed you."

"You saw me yesterday, Abbs."

"I know, but so much has happened and I was worried and Tim's family are here and..." Abby started rambling; something that always laid her nervousness bare for all to see.

"Hey. Easy, take a breath." Tony held her tight as the tears she'd been holding back started to fall."What's going on Abbs?"

"He came back online and hurt Tim's dad."

"I know, that's the reason why McAli is getting plastered right about now." Abby pulled away and frowned at Tony.

"McAli? Plastered? He's not getting drunk Tony."

"Come on! _Mohammed Ali_? You know, float like a butterfly, sting like a bee? He punched a doorframe and plastered means he's gettin' his arms put in a cast."

Abby finally realised what he meant and flushed at her mistake. "Never mind. I'm tired and am obviously not on my game with that one."

"'s...I can't think straight right now. I've been trying to isolate the signal and have narrowed it down to all of..." The laptop dinged and reminded Tony of the familiar sound that often signalled some kind of discovery the lab rat had made. "I got a ding. Oh my God, I got a ding!"

"What does that mean?" Tony had no idea what Abby was doing on the laptop and followed her over. At that moment, Gibbs walked in with Ziva in tow.

"Gibbs, Gibbs! I got a ding!" Gibbs stood and scowled slightly at her to get her to elaborate. "Right. Well, I downloaded the programme that McGee wrote to identify the computer that is using the proxy server. It acts as a Trojan horse and tracks the signal as it bounces around and eventually falls on the main source. It's a brilliant programme that has got so much promise it's..."

"Geek speak, Abbs. Damn it where is he?" Gibbs moved close to her and stood there glaring.

"Right. Sir, yes sir." She started to type on the keyboard and pulled up the programme. "It's in; what the hell?"

"ABBY!"

"The original IP address is linked to a computer in D.C."

Ducky glanced over at his passenger and smiled slightly when he noticed Tim had pretty much passed out in the passenger seat with his head lolling against the window. The hospital had given Tim some pain meds to help with the pain which, mixed with the sheer level of exhaustion he was already feeling, knocked him out and left them little time to talk; that was the very reason why the M.E. decided to forgo the coffee and travel back to the house. Just as they were pulling into the street, his phone started to ring and roused the young man next to him.

"Ducky?" Tim's voice was thick with sleep and it was obvious that he was struggling to pull through the grogginess.

"I'm sorry, Timothy. Please can you answer that for me?" He flipped open his phone and handed it over to Tim.

"Thanks. Hello."

"_McGee. Where's Duck?" _Gibbs tone made Tim wince slightly andhe found himself sighing deeply before answering.

"Driving, Boss. Everything alright?"

"_First things first, how're you doing?"_

"I'm ok. Broke a couple of bones in my hand and I've got hairline fractures in my wrist. Apart from that I'm alright." Tim shook his head knowing how unconvincing he had just sounded.

"_Yeah right. Where are you?"_

"Just pulling up now. What's going on?" Tim knew something was wrong and he felt his gut clench; the sight of Tony and Ziva flying out of the house at top speed towards their car twisted the knife deeper. "What the hell is going on, Gibbs. Where are Tony and Ziva going?"

"_Just get in here." _Gibbs hung up the phone, leaving Tim sitting there staring at Tony's car as it sped away.

"Timothy?"

"Something's happening, Duck. We need to get inside now."


	16. Chapter 15

Tim and Ducky got out of the car and walked nervously to the house. Gibbs' short, snapped tone made it known that something was going on; something bad; something that drove a shard of ice through his heart as it froze with fear at what he was walking into. He paused briefly at the front door and glanced over at the M.E.

"Timothy? Are you alright?" Ducky was looking at Tim with a concerned frown that furrowed his gentle face.

"What if...Duck I don't know what's going on, but what if he's killed them. What if..." Tim's horrified whisper tore at the M.E.'s heart.

"You don't know that, my dear boy. It could be something completely unrelated for all we know." Ducky tried to soothe the young man with positive reasoning.

"I doubt it. Gibbs isn't like that unless something bad's happened. Let's face it, Ducky. The way things are going it wouldn't surprise me." Tim started to shake at the thoughts that were swirling through his mind and was only grounded when Ducky placed his hand on his good arm.

"I think we should go inside. You won't know what is going on standing out here and it's more that obvious that the stress of the past week has left your mind wandering to the worst case scenario's. At least listen to what Jethro has to say, Timothy."

Tim nodded and reached out with to grab the door with his right hand. It felt weird using his non-dominant hand, but his left was currently immobile in a cast and sling. Just as he was about to open the door, it flung open and Gibbs barrelled into them as he was about to leave; the impact sending a jarring pain through Tim's injured limb.

"Damn it! McGee, You okay?" Gibbs asked in abject concner.

"Yeah, Boss. Just..you know." Ti m was bent slightly at the waist as he clutched his broken hand.

"Sorry, and it's not a sign of weakness with something like that. Listen, Abby got a fix on the IP address and we're heading there now. I need you to stay here with her and provide me with the tech support I need."

"No way! I'm coming with you!" Tim argued defiantly in the heat of the moment.

"NO YOU ARE NOT! McGee, you've got a damn cast on your left hand; Your gun hand. How the hell do you expect to help when you can't even shoot? That and the fact that you are too damn close to this. Let us do our job, McGee." Gibbs placed both hands on Tim's shoulders and squeezed gently to let his Agent know he was there for him.

"Boss, it's my family. I need to..."

"Do your job and provide me with the tech support I need. McGee, you're the best person for the job and I had the gear you need sent over so ya don't have to go to NCIS. It's all set up in the kitchen. Go. Help me that way and let us go get your family back."

Gibbs felt Tim slump slightly and watched as his youngest agent nodded. He didn't like what he saw in Tim's eyes and frowned at the sheer defeat he saw there.

"Sure, Boss. If that's what you need. Just bring them home. Bring them back to me." the young man begged desperately.

"I'll do what I can, Tim. I promise you that." Gibbs vowed.

"Thanks." Tim pulled himself free and made his way into the house leaving Gibbs standing there with Ducky.

"Duck, DiNozzo and Ziva are in the car waiting. Watch over him for me won't ya?"

"Always, Jethro. Just be careful; All of you." Ducky's worried voice elicited a small, rueful smile out of his friend.

"We're always careful, Duck. You know that."

"Alas, that isn't always enough, Jethro. I've seen you all on the receiving end far too much for my liking." Ducky shook his head sadly "Now, You have young Timothy's family to rescue, I believe?"

"Yeah. I'll keep you informed." With those last words, Gibbs walked over to the car and got in before it sped off leaving Ducky standing there watching it disappear down the street.

"God speed, my friends. God Speed."

* * *

"Boss, what's the full address."

"There's an empty office block on half street NE. The signal's comin' from there according to Abby."

"On the way to the Washington Nationals? Come on!" Tony's incredulous tone rang through the car.

"What are the Washington Nationals?" Ziva asked with a hint of curiosity.

"Baseball team. It's where they play. Boss, you think he's stupid enough to take them somewhere so public?" Tony still couldn't believe that whoever had taken his Probie's family would keep them somewhere so damn public and open.

"Who knows, DiNozzo. I'm sure as hell not going to turn back on that theory though. Turn right here."

Tony didn't slow down as he turned and heard the tires squeal with sudden movement. Gibbs glared at Tony briefly before giving him the order to stop the car.

"There it is. Pull over here."

"What do we do now?" came Ziva's question.

"We wait for backup. It's a big building so we're gonna need the extra bodies to search the place." Gibbs pulled out his phone and dialed Ducky's number.

"_Jethro, is everything alright?" _Ducky sounded almost frantic.

"We're good, Duck. Just waiting for backup. How's McGee doing?"

"_He's pacing, Jethro. I don't think he knows what to do with himself at the moment and until there is something that he can do, he won't settle."_

"Figured as much." Gibbs sighed heavily knowing exactly what would be running through that computer that Tim had as a brain "I don't think there'll be much he can do to be honest, but I wanted to give him a solid reason to stay there. If I was in his position, a few broken bones wouldn't stop me."

"_I guessed as much, Jethro and I think young Ti..." _Ducky cut off when heated voices came from the kitchen. "_Oh, no. Jethro, I have to go."_

"Duck, what the hell is...Duck?" Gibbs snapped his phone shut and threw it on the dashboard. "Damn it!"

"Boss?"

"I don't know, DiNozzo and there nothing we can do about it now. Call Vance and ask him when the backup is due because I want to get in there NOW!"

Tony pulled out his phone and pushed the speed dial for the Director. With a sideways glance to his seething Boss, Tony hoped and prayed that everything was alright with his family.

"Damn it, Tim. Calm the hell down!" came Jim's voice loud with anger and authority.

Ducky walked in to Jim trying to calm his cousin in law down and saw Abby sitting in one of the chairs with her head in her hands, sobbing. Anna was sitting next to her clutching Isabelle tightly as they mother and daughter shared the tears that seemed to go hand in hand with the highly charged emotions in the kitchen. Jim's partner was standing in the corner watching the scene with a strangely calm look on his face and made his way over to the M.E. when he walked in.

"What on earth is going on?"

"Dr. Mallard. I'm glad you are here because Tim opened a parcel that had been delivered and has been arguing with Jim ever since." Anna said tearfully.

"What was in the parcel?" Ducky made his way over to the women at the table and placed his hand on Anna's shoulder. "Anna, my dear. Maybe you should take the little one into the living room. I don't think it's doing either of you any good being in here."

Anna looked up with tear filled eyes and nodded before standing.

"I think...Oh God, Ducky you have to help him. Talk to him; please." The pleading tone tore at Ducky's heart.

"Of course. Go and take care of this little treasure." He watched Anna slip out carrying Izzy and turned to Abby only to pull her into a tight hug. "Abigail, what's happened?"

"D...Ducky. There was this parcel that had been delivered and when Tim opened it there was...there was Sarah's blouse sitting in there and it was covered with..." Abby broke off with a sob and clung onto Ducky so tightly that he felt slightly constricted.

"What, Abigail. What was on it?"

"WHAT WAS ON IT? YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT WAS ON IT?" Tim hollered in pure anger.

Ducky jumped at Tim's yelled rhetorical question and dis-entangled himself from Abby.

"Timothy, please. You need to calm down and tell me what this is all about."

"Ducky, that son of a...He sent Sarah's shirt and there was blood and...DAMN IT!" Tim stopped mid sentence and started to pace the kitchen.

"What? Jim?"

Jim moved over and leaned down to whisper in Ducky's ear knowing that if it was said out loud, then Tim would lose that tenuous grip he seemed to have on the control he had and would leave him in such a blind rage that there was no way anyone would be able to calm him down.

"Ducky, there was what looks like dried semen on the blouse. We need Abby to take it to her lab to get DNA from it but haven't got as far as asking her."

"Oh my." Ducky turned to Abby once again and knelt down in front of her. "Abigail. I need you to calm down so you can take the blouse to the lab to run it for DNA. Can you do that?"

"I don't know. Ducky, what is he doing to them?" Abby's sobs had quietened down enough for her to talk rationally to the M.E.

"I know it's difficult, but we need you to do this. You are the only person that can try to find the evidence that we need. I'll drive you there."

"No. Dr. Mallard, I'll drive Miss Sciuto to NCIS so you can stay here with Tim. He needs you right now and Jim's gonna have to calm Anna down." Andy stepped forward and picked up the bag with the blouse in it..._at least someone had the good sense to bag the evidence_ though Ducky.

"I would appreciate that. I don't want young Abigail driving right now." Ducky turned his attention back to Abby and was pleased to see that she had pulled herself together enough to concentrate on what she was being asked. "Abigail?"

" Right. Now? I mean, yeah, we need to go now. Come on Andy, I've got work to do." With that, she stood up and took the evidence bag from Jim's partner before making her way out of the kitchen without a word to anyone.

"Jim, I'll be back soon."

"Sure, Andy. See you later." Jim watched Andy leave and turned his attention back to Tim. "You calm now?"

Tim glowered at Jim and Ducky was amazed at the fact that his usually calm young friend could scowl the way he was.

"If he hurt her...If he touched her in any way then I'm gonna kill him, Jim. I'm going to RIP HIS DAMN HEAD OFF!"

"Timothy! Sit!" Ducky ordered Tim.

"NO! I can't stand this Ducky. It's killing me knowing that he's got them and then this? What the hell did they do to deserve this?" Tim seemed to be running out of steam and Ducky was pleased when Jim noticed and stepped forward to guide Tim to the chair.

"They didn't do anything to deserve this, Timothy. Nothing! Now, let me check you over, young man because you have worked yourself up into quite a frenzy in a very short time frame."

Tim glared at him and seemed to deflate even more in the chair. "Sorry. She's my baby sister, Ducky. I can't do anything for them and it's killing me."

"I know, Timothy. I know. Take off your jacket."

Jim helped Tim out of his jacket and watched as Ducky stepped away to grab his bag and pulled out a blood pressure monitor.

"I want to check your blood pressure." Ducky wrapped the cuff around Tim's arm and waited patiently for it to inflate before deflating enough to get the reading. The machine beeped making Ducky frown at the reading of 170 over 110. "Oh, Timothy. Your pressure is sky high which is no doubt attributed to the stress. I want you to go up to bed and rest for a bit."

"I can't. Gibbs wants me on hand."

"Doctors orders and I'll have no arguments. Jim, would you do the honours please? Jethro will not want you ill prepared to help when he needs it, Timothy."

Jim stepped forward and grasped Tim's arm before pulling him up.

"You heard the man. Come on, you're not doing anyone any favours by making yourself sick. I'll take you upstairs so you can get some rest and I'll help Gibbs if he rings in."

"You don't kn..."

"Yeah, I do. I've done it at work so it's nothing new to me. Move, Tim." Tim let Jim guide him out of the kitchen and up to the bedroom leaving Ducky kneeling on the cold, tile floor.

He sat there for a while before standing up. "I hope you find him, Jethro because I don't think Timothy is going to be able to take much more."

* * *

Tony and Gibbs moved down towards the basement with Ziva watching their six. The other teams had taken the upper levels, leaving them with the basement; a place they knew would be a prime position given the fact that there had been no evidence of windows in the live feed. The walls had also been a bare brick that was a clear indication that the room hadn't been painted like the rest of the building seemed to have been.

"DiNozzo, Ziva." Gibbs whispered as they approached the door to the basement room. "I don't want any harm to come to the McGee's."

"Got it, Boss."

"Yes, Gibbs."

Ziva and Tony got in position as Gibbs opened the door. All three of them barrelling into the room with their weapons primed for action. As they all silently moved around the basement, it was clear that the relatively small space was completely empty, save for the small laptop in the middle of the floor and a note to the side.

"All clear, Boss. There's nothing." Tony moved from his position where he had just finished scouting the perimeter of the room and came to a stop beside Gibbs. "What the hell?"

Gibbs bent down and put on a pair of the latex gloves that they used at crime scenes. He carefully picked up the letter and unfolded the paper to reveal the message that was printed there.

_**NCIS.**_

_**You think you are so clever but I assure you, you are not. If you are reading this, then by now you have discovered that I have you all running around in circles chasing your own tails. The building is in fact, completely empty.**_

_**It's all part of the game of course. The game by which you are my little pawns to do with as I please and believe me, the game is just getting started.**_

_**And now, for your viewing pleasure...**_

The screen on the laptop sprung to life to reveal the McGee's sitting there. Gibbs noticed that Sarah had been stripped of her blouse and was now sitting there wearing a white vest top. A figure moved over to Tim's sister and carefully ran the tip of a knife over the skin of her throat making the youngest McGee whimper.

"Damn it! DiNozzo..."

"On it, Boss." Tony pulled up his arm and started to talk into the hidden microphone in his sleeve. Gibbs watched for a minute as he called off the other teams and turned back to the laptop.

"Ziva. Call Vance and tell him we've got nothing. Tell him we need a tech team down here." He never took his eyes off the screen and watched as the sick S.O.B. dragged the knife down and cut the straps on Sarah's top before stopping and walking over to the camera.

"_Agent Gibbs. Well, well. I do hope you are having as much fun trying to find me as much fun as I am keeping busy while I wait for you to figure it out."_ The camera was turned, once again towards the McGee's._ "As you can see. Agent McGee's father has bared the brunt of my little game but I'm bored of him now. I'm sure you can guess who my next target will be. With that thought, I'll bid you a good day...and don't forget to enjoy the hunt.."_

The laptop went completely blank leaving Gibbs sitting there staring at it with nothing but a sickening, abject horror laying heavy in his gut.

"Damn it. Get a team down here NOW! We've got to get back because there's something we're missing." With that, he stood up and stormed out with his phone poised at his ear.

"This is not good, Ziva. He's right. There's something we are missing and I think we might be too late."

"Yes, there is something we are missing, Tony but I refuse to think we are too late. For McGee's sake. And for the sake of his family. We must not give up."


	17. Chapter 16

Jim guided Tim up the stairs and frowned heavily when his cousin in-law shrugged free and walked into the bedroom. Each and every step pounded angrily as pure, unadulterated fury rolled off the young man in waves, making the atmosphere thick and uncomfortably heavy. It was strange to see because when they had left the kitchen, Tim seemed to deflate in front of him; the only problem was, that the silent journey to the bedroom had given Tim thinking time and that in itself was enough to raise the fires of hell within the young man's heart.

"Tim. You need to calm down. You heard what the Doc said." Jim moved towards Tim and tried to placate him on the way. "Come on, sit down."

Tim jumped slightly as his cousin's husband wrapped a hand around his bicep and let him to the bed. Once he was sitting down, with slumped shoulders and his head hung down to his chest, he felt a gentle hand rest on his knee.

"We'll find them, Tim. I promise you that. Your team is heading up an operation at the moment so hopefully we'll hear something soon."

"it's not….Jim, even if we get them back…I can't….." Tim couldn't get the words out and felt his blood run cold at what he wanted to say. He bit back a sob and raised his head to look Jim directly in the eyes. "How are they going to live with what has been done to them? My dad….oh god, my dad and Sarah! That blouse; her blouse had…..what's he doing to them. I don't even know what he's done to my mom." The fight completely left Tim, leaving him feeling exhausted and emotionally drained to the point where he felt as though he was going to drop. Jim saw this and moved his hands up to grip the younger man's shoulders and pushed him down onto the bed.

"Right now, you need to rest. You're not going to do them any good if you make yourself sick."

Tim's resigned compliance worried Jim as he lay down and simply closed his eyes without any argument or fight. To Jim, it seemed he was looking at an exhausted broken man and he would do absolutely anything to take away that pain. He listened at Tim's breathing evened out and sighed with relief at the fact that the poor guy had finally fallen asleep. With one last glance around the room, he grabbed the blanket at the end of the bed and draped over Tim's still form before going back downstairs and into the living room to help comfort his wife and daughter.

"Anna?"

"Jim. Oh God, Jim. Tim was…..he's so….." Anna clutched her whimpering daughter close as she paced the room.

"He's sleeping now. You okay, Honey?"

"I don't know. I just want this to be over."

"I know you do." He moved over to her and reached down to pick his daughter out of Anna's arms. "Shhhh, Izzy. It's alright, Bella."

Izzy was soothed by her father's calming, steady voice and they watched as her eyes dropped and the young girl fell asleep. With a warm smile to his wife, He placed Isabelle in the travel cot and guided Anna towards the door. They needed to speak, but first things first, they needed to make coffee and make sure Ducky was alright.

"Tim's really asleep?" Anna asked.

"Yeah. He's blown off enough steam and crashed with exhaustion. The pain killers will be knocking him off his feet as well."

"I know. I want to go and sit with him. Is that Okay?"

"Not yet, Baby. I want you to get checked over by Ducky and then the three of us are going to sit down and have a coffee to calm down." Jim stopped just before entering the kitchen and pulled his wife into a warm embrace. He smiled when he felt her hand slide up to rest just over his heart knowing that she liked to feel it beating under her hand. "Come on, Ducky's on his own and could probably do with some company right about now."

They walked into the kitchen hand in hand and frowned when they heard Ducky on the phone.

"What do you mean it was a ploy? Jethro, what on earth is going on?" Ducky was standing at the patio doors looking out towards the yard so he didn't hear them coming in.

"Oh, dear. I don't know how we are going to break this to Timothy. He opened a parcel containing Sarah's blouse and it sent him into a fit of rage."

"What? No, Jethro…Jethro! Listen to me. It wasn't the fact that it contained the blouse that upset him, it was the fact that blouse had what appeared to be semen stains on it." Ducky turned and saw Jim and Anna standing there staring at him and pulled his phone away from his ear as Gibbs' yelled down the phone.

"Yes, I understand that, but Timothy is currently resting in bed because his blood pressure went through the roof….No. I will tell him, but let him rest for an hour more…..I will…..Okay, I will see you then." He hung up the phone and shook his head sadly.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that. Jethro, is not very good at hiding his anger I am afraid."

"Everything alright?" Jim made sure Anna was sitting comfortably and moved to the counter to get the coffee started.

"No. I'm afraid, it is not. Unfortunately the address was not where your family is being held and we have been played. Whoever is doing this is treating us like pawns in that sick and twisted little game of his. I have no idea how to tell Timothy that we haven't found his family and it was merely a ruse for his enjoyment."

"What the hell happened? I thought they found the IP address and routed it back somewhere."

"They did but unfortunately, the computer skills of whoever is doing this is second to none and he managed to lead us to an empty room with another laptop and a note."

"Damn it! Jim, I'm going to go and sit with Tim for a bit." Ducky started to say something but Anna cut him off "I won't tell him, Ducky. But I need to be there when he wakes up. I need to know he's safe."

"Alright, my dear. But please be careful about what you say to him because this needs handling delicately given the state he was in before."

"Sure."

Anna walked out of the kitchen leaving Ducky and Jim alone. Jim busied himself making the coffee whilst Ducky sat there in silence thinking about the events of the day. Just as Jim passed Ducky a mug, there was a shout from upstairs. The two men slammed their mugs on the table and ran upstairs to find Anna leaning out of the window shouting at Tim's Porsche as it sped away.

10 minutes ago….

Gibbs sped down the road at break necks speed; something that belied his fury at what had just happened. They had spent the better part of an hour talking to the team that Vance had sent to take over from the case and had made sure that every last little bit of evidence had been documented, bagged, tagged and taken away with precision and care.

"Boss, where are we going?"

"Back to my house. I need to explain this whole thing to McGee."

Silence reined in the car until his cell phone rang.

"Yeah, Gibbs."

_"Jethro, we may have a problem."_

_"_What kind of Problem, Duck. What the hell's happened?" Gibbs frowned and pulled over.

"_Are you still there?"_

_"_No. The S.O.B. is playing games with us Duck. He set up a laptop in the basement and left us a nice little note."

_"I don't understand."_

_"_It was a ploy. A game." Gibbs huffed out a breath and slammed his hand hard on the steering wheel.

_"What do you mean it was a ploy? Jethro, what on earth is going on?"_

"His family wasn't there Duck. I don't know what else to say. The building was empty and the basement had nothing but a damn laptop and a note that he left for us. He's playing us! We're nothing but puppets to him right about now."

_"Oh, dear. I don't know how we are going to break this to Timothy. He opened a parcel containing Sarah's blouse and it sent him into a fit of rage."_

Gibbs unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car to pace. Tony glanced at Ziva and frowned at the tight lipped look on her face. They both glanced out of the window and watched as their boss got more and more wound up.

"What the hell was he doing opening anything without it being checked first? Was it the blouse Sarah was wearing?"

_"Yes, I am afraid so."_

_"_Damn it. You calm him down? I can't believe he saw red over receiving that. I'll talk to him when I get back."

_"What? No, Jethro…"_

"Damn it. Duck. If he's losing his temper then he's gonna cause problems…."

_Jethro! Listen to me. It wasn't the fact that it contained the blouse that upset him; it was the fact that the blouse had what appeared to be semen stains on it."_

Gibbs heard Ducky's words and felt winded as they struck him like a blow the gut. All of a sudden he realized that the pent up anger and frustration that his Agent had unleashed in front of his old friend, was perfectly valid….Especially given the fact that he wanted nothing more than to scream and shout about it himself.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE? AND WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU RING ME AS SOON AS HE OPENED IT? YOU KNOW WHAT, DON'T ANSWER THAT, I DON'T WANT TO KNOW." Gibbs ran his hand through his hair. "I need you to calm him down and get him to call me. You got that?"

_"Yes, I understand that, but Timothy is currently resting in bed because his blood pressure went through the roof."_

"He okay? because this is only gonna cause him more problems then I don't want to hide it from him. Do you want to wait for me to get there or are you gonna tell him?"

_"No. I will tell him, but let him rest for an hour more"_

"Okay. Keep an eye on him, Duck."

"_I will."_

"We're on our way back now and we'll be there in twenty minutes."

"_Okay, I will see you then."_

Gibbs hung up the phone and made his way back to the car. When he got in, he ignored the questioning looks from his two agents and put the car in gear before setting off at breakneck speed. All Tony and Ziva could do was sit back in silence and watch as the road flew past in a blur as the anger rolled of their boss in tidal waves. Tony finally gave in and rubbed his eyes before turning to Gibbs, looking like a lamb going to slaughter.

"Boss, what's goin' on?" Tony's concern was palpable and Gibbs sighed heavily before relaying everything that he'd been told.

"So McGee's sister has been sexually assaulted?" Ziva asked from the backseat. Her tone was dangerously quiet as the newest agent on the team tried to fathom why and who was doing this….Well, as well as trying to work out the best way to cause pain.

"Looks like it. Listen, McGee's taken it badly so play it carefully round him. Ducky's gonna tell him about the situation with the lead so I don't think he's gonna be up for talking to anyone."

Gibbs was met with a quiet litany of 'yes, boss' as they sped towards their destination feeling as if they were the judge, jury and executioner for Timothy McGee's family

Abby had made it down to the lab was busy taking swabs of the stain the blouse so she could check for DNA and confirm that it was actually semen. The journey over had been spent in silence and despite Andy's efforts at trying to talk to her and take her mind off things, she simply hadn't been in the mood. Once she'd hit the lab, the first thing she did was quietly turn on her machinery and took the time to find the headspace that she needed to get the job done.

"You alright?" Andy was hovering about watching Abby turn on her 'babies'; it struck him as slightly strange that she gave them the loving care and attention that she did but given her penchant for emotion, he wasn't really surprised.

"I'm fine. You don't have to stick around if you have things to do."

"you sure?"

"Yeah. To be honest, I work better alone so it's probably best that you go back and see what they need there."

Andy nodded and turned to make his way out of the lab. It wasn't really true, she did work well with people but only people she knew and trusted. In fact, after what happened with chip, The only people that she truly trusted were her NCIS family and even then, they sometimes got in the way.

She cut out the stain on the blouse and started to process it in a way that would give them all the information that they wanted; hopefully anyway. It was a long shot that the DNA that was found would be identifiable given the fact that they had no base data to go from, but fingers crossed, the guy was in the database and she'd get the 'ding' that sent a spark of excitement going through her every time it happened.

Just as she got the processed material into the DNA sequencer, the video phone chirped beside her. She pushed the button to get it started and moved over to the central desk to see who it was. She smiled slightly as Jimmy's face filled the screen.

"Hey Jimmy."

"Hi Abby. I thought I saw you coming in. Who was the guy you were with?"

"Why? Jealous?" Abby grinned as Jimmy turned a deep shade of red at her comment.

"No…I mean, should I be?...I mean.."

"Jimmy. Calm down. He's McGee's cousin- in -law's partner. He's a uniform police officer in Tim's home town and he came down to see if he could help.

"Oh, er ok. So, you need any help? I'm kind of at a loss down here today." Jimmy took off his glasses and cleaned the lenses with a tissue.

"I'm good, but if you're bored then you can always come and keep me company." Abby hoped that Jimmy would come down because the thought of being there alone with her tormenting mind daunted her. The problem was, she wanted some one there that she liked and trusted as opposed to some one there she didn't know.

"Really? Ok. I'll be there soon. Just let me close up here."

"Ok, see you soon." Abby disconnected the call and moved back to her babies.

"Come on, now. Give me a ding….."

Anna pushed past the two men and tore down the stairs knowing that that there no way she would catch up to Tim; She couldn't explain it but she had to be there; had to be in the garden at that point and followed her instincts.

Just as she go out there and gazed down the empty street, Gibbs' car turned the corner leaving her feeling at a loss as to what to do.

"Anna? Honey what's wrong? Why did Tim tear out of here like a bat out of hell?"

"I don't know. I went up there and he wasn't there. When I looked out of the window, I saw him getting in his car and speeding off. What the hell's going on?"

Gibbs stepped out of the car and frowned when Anna was pulled into a tight hug by her husband. Something was off and he didn't like it. He walked over with Tony and Ziva hot on his heels and glared at the two of them; urging them to tell him what was wrong.

"Tim's driven off like someone put a bomb under his ass. Anna saw him goin' off in his car."

"You know where?"

"No. He was asleep when we left him and when Anna went up to speak to him, she saw him pulling out."

Gibbs nodded morosely and turned to his senior agent.

"DiNozzo, call McGee's cell and find out where he is. I want him back here ASAP!"

"On it, Boss." Tony walked away pulling his cell phone out of his pocket.

"Ziva, find out how Abby's doing on that DNA and ask her whether NCIS put GPS Markers in our personal vehicles like they do the Agency's. Tell her to track his phone while she's at it!"

"Yes, Gibbs."

Gibbs turned back to the couple and nodded his head curtly to the house before stalking in. They needed to talk, but there was no way they were doing it without coffee.

"Boss!" Tony's shout rang through the yard and stopped Gibbs dead, on the porch.

"You got him?" Gibbs ran down to meet his agent.

"No. but his phone's turned off so it's goin' straight to voice mail." Tony shook his head "I left him a message."

Gibbs stepped up to Tony and glared harshly at his agent; he knew that it was wrong and that he had not reason to be pissed at him, but the fact that Tim had sped off alone un-nerved him.

"Get Abby to get that trace on his damn cell, now! I wanna know exactly where he is!" Gibbs stared at Tony and after a minute or so he snapped "NOW DINOZZO! DA'VID!"

"Gibbs. Abby said she does not have the results back yet, but is going to ask about the tracking device."

"Ok. Go back to HQ and help Abby with the searches. He might not be gone for long, but I don't want him gone at all. Keep your eye out in case he's stopped off at any shops on the way."

"Yes, Gibbs."

"For cryin' out loud, DiNozzo!. What are you waiting for? Don't make me tell you again!"

Tony pulled out his phone with a heavy heart knowing that no matter what, this was not going to end well and just hoped that Tim was going to alright. Sure, it was possible that Tim had needed something and simply made a quick trip to get whatever it was; but why so covert? Why not tell someone where he was going or ask them to go for him?

No, something was wrong and Tony didn't like it one little bit.

Abby was pacing the lab waiting for a ding when Jimmy arrived down there. It had been a good half hour or so since talking to him and she had to admit to feeling antsy about being alone.

"Abby." Jimmy walked over to her and handed her the Caf-pow that he had nipped out to buy.

"Thanks Jim…" She flew around and glanced at her machinery as it dinged "I got a ding. Jimmy I got a ding!"

Jimmy followed her over to the computer and frowned heavily when she started tapping away excitedly on the computer, ignoring her ringing cell phone.

"Abby, your phone's ringing."

"Answer it. I'm busy at the moment." Abby off handedly waved her hand towards her mobile with a frown. Jimmy sighed and picked up the phone.

"Abby's phone."

"_Palmer. Why the hell is the Autopsy Gremlin answering Abby's phone?" _Jimmy scowled at Tony's question.

"She's in the middle of something at the moment, Tony. What do you need?"

_"I need her to run that trace on McGee's cell phone."_

"I'll let her kn…" Abby reached over and snatched the phone out of the gremlins hands.

"Tony. Crap, I got a ding. We were right. It's semen on the blouse, but the DNA isn't human. It's bull semen."

"_What?" _Tony sounded stunned at the revelation.

"It's….."

"Y_eah, I heard ya. What I don't understand is why? Or even how….In fact, I don't wanna know how."_

_"_So does that mean he might not have hurt Sarah? is this another one of his games?"

"I don't know, Abbs. I just don't know. I'll talk to Gibbs about it. Listen, did you get that trace done on McGee's cell phone."

"Not yet. Why?"

"Just do it, Abbs. We need it ASAP."

Tim floored the accelerator and sped along the roads of DC towards the address he had been given. He had already followed one set of instructions and winced heavily when he wound down his window and threw out his beloved I-phone, knowing that it wouldn't survive being flattened by another vehicle.

With a sigh, he grabbed the package that he had collected from a drop off point and opened it up to reveal a cheap phone that would serve the purpose of whoever was playing these damn games with him. He was about to put it back on the seat, but started when it started to ring.

"Yeah, McGee…..I got it….No."

There was a pause on the other end of the line and then he heard it; something that would be etched into his heart for the rest of his life.

_His mother screaming._


	18. Chapter 17

"MOM! NO, LEAVE HER ALONE! DAMN IT WHAT DO YOU WANT?" Tim felt the anger rise within in at his mother screams and wanted nothing more than to put his gun to this sick S.O.B's head and pull the trigger. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel and felt himself lose control of the emotions that he had been trying so hard to repress.

"_Oh, she's not screaming because I'm hurting her, Agent McGee. She's screaming because of what I'm doing to your father. I'll be very surprised if he'll walk again." _The calm, sinister voice resonated through his head.

"My father? Stop! Whatever you're doing to him, just stop! You're gonna kill him."

"_No. I won't and you know why? Because I want you to remember this with the kind of guilt and pain that will tear you apart for the rest of your life...that is, if I let you live that long."_

The line went dead and Tim threw the phone down on the passenger seat. He had no idea why this guy was doing this and started to feel guilt at sneaking out the way he did, seep through but tried to shake it off so he could focus on the task ahead.

He had just driven over the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Bridge and was following the instructions that took him out of Washington DC and straight into Virginia. It wasn't long before he was following the signs that guided him to his destination and he soon found himself pulling over in the parking lot that sat right next to the long walk bridge that took people over to the Memorial Island in the middle of the river. He sat there for a moment and was startled when the cheap phone shrilled loudly beside him.

"McGee." He said with a bit more vehemence then he should have used considering the danger his family was in.

"_You might want to curb that anger Agent McGee, after all, it's your family here with me."_

"Please...Just...what do I do now?"

"_Ahh, I see you. Such a beautiful car, it's a shame really. Get out of your vehicle and start walking down the bridge."_

"And then what?" Tim felt fear rage through him at what he was about to do, but walking into the dragon's den seemed like the right thing to do if it saved his family.

"_And then, we play."_

The line went dead and Tim sighed heavily as he put the phone in his jacket pocket and grabbed his service weapon out of the glove box before holstering it. With a shake of his head, he stepped out and locked the car and started making his way towards the bridge with every nerve in his body on edge. Luckily, he had parked close and he was soon making his way over to the island. He was suddenly struck by the fact that it dusk had started to descend and he was the only person in the area. That in itself, did nothing but acerbate his terror and make him quicken his steps. He was about half way over when he heard a noise behind him and he started to turn. He didn't quite manage to make it all the way round before feeling a stinging sensation in his neck right before darkness descended.

Tim woke up slowly and tried desperately to pull his mind out of the boggy quagmire that it was currently drowning in. For some reason, the murkiness was trying its' level best to keep him down but there was something there, in the back of his mind, that was telling him to push through and wake up.

"_Agent McGee. Are you waking up? I hope you are because that would mean I've got a full set to play with now."_

Tim opened his eyes and tried to focus on the hooded, figure that loomed in front of him. It was hard though, and whatever he had been knocked out with, left him feeling docile and totally out of it.

"Wha...Where'm I?"

"_You don't remember? Maybe this will refresh your memory."_ Tim felt himself being swung around and was assaulted by pain in both his shoulders.

_I'm hanging by my arms? How did that happen?_

"Wha..." The words felt thick in his mouth and he tried to lick his lips, it was fruitless though and his dry mouth did nothing to help with the dry, cracked lips that were starting to develop. The world swirled around him as he was moved before he came to an abrupt stop. He gasped at what he saw in front of him..._His family._

"_Say hello to your family, Tim. May I call you Tim?"_ The politeness was sinister to a fault making Tim balk slightly.

"You guys alright?" Tim's heart broke at the tears that streamed down his mother's face. "Mom, s'alright. M'kay."

"Tim, I'm so, so sorry." Angela's sobs rang loud in the windowless room and seemed to echo off the walls.

"_Angela, we've talked about this already. Do you want me to gag you?"_ The swallowed yelp that emanated from the woman told Tim that whatever had been threatened was bad and that his mother was scared witless.

"Dad. Alright?"

"Tim. I'm not so good, son." Jacob's voice was laced with pain and Tim noticed the misshapen legs that hung over the edge of the chair.

"M'sorry. Why...Why are you doin' this?"

"_All will be revealed. For now, say goodbye to your family."_ Tim frowned before feeling the impacting pain in the back of his head right before passing out once again.

* * *

Abby was frantically trying to trace Tim's cell phone but so far came up with nothing. With every failure can the bone deep dejection that she hated. She hung her head when the computer beeped and told her that the search had failed once again and with a huge, gulping sigh, she pulled out her phone and dialled the number that she didn't really want to.

"Yeah. _Gibbs."_

"Gibbs, it's me. McGee's cell phone can't be traced. I've done numerous searches that have all come up with nothing." Abby knew she was sounding panicked, but there was nothing else that she could do and was feeling totally useless.

"_Nothing? McGee can't live without his cell, Abbs."_

"I know that! But the searches are all coming back as unk...Wait, Gibbs, something just popped up on my screen. His cell phone is being used right now and he's at...c'mon, c'mon... Rock Creek Park. He's at Rock Creek Park, Gibbs."

"_You sure?"_

"Well, that's what his signal's telling me, so yeah, I'm pretty sure." She answered dryly before huffing slightly. "Did you try calling him?"

"_Well yeah, Abbs. I did and it went straight to voicemail." _Abby cringed at the slightly sarcastic tone that Gibbs used.

"Oh. Sorry. Where are you? Are you, Tony and Ziva going to go and get him?"

"_I was on my way back to NCIS, Abbs, but tell Vance what you know and that we'll need backup."_

"Okay. Be careful."

"_Yeah." _The line went dead and Abby felt her heart drop slightly at the thought, that regardless of what was happening, Tim's family were still in grave danger and needed help.

Gibbs sped down Constitution Avenue NW towards Rock Creek Park and tried to ignore the frightened yelps coming from his Senior Field Agent.

"Boss...No, no, MOVE! Boss come on! You're gonna...Oh no...!"

"Tony! Quit it! Ziva, try McGee's number again." Gibbs barked out at his two agents. He glanced in the rear view mirror and saw Ziva pulling out her cell phone. A short minute later, he heard Ziva's voice shouting loudly down the handset.

"Who is this?...You are not McGee...No! I demand that you tell me who you are...Sir, My name is NCIS Agent Ziva Da'vid and you are interfering with an investigation. We need that phone back...Yes, well where are you...Alright, stay where you are, we will be there soon."

"What the hell?" Gibbs was alternating his glare between the road and Ziva.

"A young man answered McGee's phone. He said he found it by the side of the road and..."

"He decided to keep it. Where?"

"He is driving back to where he found it and will meet us there. It's just up ahead before the bridge."

Gibbs nodded and pressed the accelerator down further eliciting a surprised yelp from Tony. "Um, Boss. I'd like to actually live to find McGee."

"Scared, DiNozzo?" Growled Gibbs.

"Er..No Boss?"

* * *

Tim came to for the second time feeling completely disorientated and sick. His head pounded in rhythm to his heartbeat and he was a hair's breath from actually loosing what little he had in his stomach. It took him a minute to realise where he was and as the memories flooded back to him, his ears started to pick up on his family's pleas.

"Tim, come on, Son, wake up. That's it, there you are."

"Dad?..you alright?" Tim's voice was slurred and thick as he tried to remember exactly what injuries his father had.

"Me? Aww Tim, come on. Are _you_ alright, that was quite some blow you took there."

"M'good. Hey Mom, Sarah."

"Sweetheart, it's going to be alright. Whatever happens, we love you." Tim's mom chocked off a sob and Tim frowned. He hadn't noticed before, but he was feeling cold as air hit his naked torso.

"S'goin' on?" Tim looked up and came face to face with their kidnapper wielding the dreaded baseball bat.

_wha...Omph._

The bad connected with Tim's stomach knocking the air out of his lungs.

"_Hmm, interesting. No screaming? I'm obviously doing it wrong."_ The hooded figure reached forward and swung Tim round so that his bare back was showing. The bat was swung hard and connected with his lower back.

"Aah...Damn i..." Tim's sob tapered off and the only sound that could be heard was his family's pleas to make it stop.

"_You're a tough one to break, Agent McGee. I remember thinking you were so genteel when you interviewed me, something I now regret. You know, I had my name down to join the police academy. The interrogation by NCIS once you pegged me as a suspect went down on my record and caused a black mark against me_."

"I don't know what you're tal...Argghhhh."

Tim screamed as the bat made contact with his back again, with a gasp, he silently prayed that his team-mates would find them in time.

* * *

"So you found the phone just lying here on Route 66?" Tony looked at the guy who had handed him McGee's phone and shook his head "It was just here, by itself?"

"Come on, Man. I told you, I saw it when I drove past and stopped to take a look. It was just laying there so I thought I'd take it."

"Okay, go on, but next time you stop and find a damn phone, try calling one of the contacts in its' phonebook."

"Gotcha. I can definitely go?"

"I would before my boss kills you with his glare." Tony watched the man get in his car and pull away. Every second that he held the phone, it seemed to get heavier and heavier in his hand. "Boss, what do we do now?"

"We get McGee's phone back to Abby and get her to take a look." Gibbs pulled off his cap and ran his hand through his hair with frustration "DAMN IT!"

"Gibbs, where does Route 55 go? I mean, the phone was on the left side of the road so it is a fair guess that McGee travelled out of D.C."

"Goes to Virginia, Ziva. Tony, call Vance and tell him we're coming in and get him to contact the LEO's in Virginia with a BOLO for McGee's car."

"On it, Boss." Tony pulled out his phone and started to dial, Just as he was about to hit the green send button, his phone started to ring.

"Yeah, DiNozzo."

"_DiNozzo, it's Balboa here. I've tried to contact Gibbs but he's not answering his phone. I thought one of his rules was never be unreachable?" _Tony glanced up at Gibbs and gestured at the phone clipped to his boss' belt. Gibbs somehow managed to get the message and pulled it off his belt and checked it, only to find the battery had died on him.

"Damn it! The battery's dead."

"No life in his phone Balboa. What's up?"

"_Typical! Tony, LEO's have reported an explosion in a car park near Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Island. It's the one that situated right next to the Roosevelt Island bridge that takes you across."_

"What's that got to do with us?" Tony was struggling to see the connection and frowned with confusion.

"_They could make out one of the license plates and ran the number. Tony, it's McGee's car."_

Tony felt as though he had been slugged in the gut and doubled over as the air rushed out of his lungs.

"McGee?"

"_They don't know. Where are you? You want me and my team to go over?"_

"No. We're on Route 66 now, right where the interstate runs on to the Memorial Bridge. Tell Vance. See what he wants you to do, but we're gonna make our way over." Tony snapped his phone shut and straightened up to come face to face with Gibbs' concerned face.

"Talk to me, DiNozzo."

"Boss, Virginia LEO's reported an explosion over at the Island Bridge parking lot." Tony inhaled sharply and tried to stop his hands from trembling "It was McGee's car, Boss. They found his plate."

"Get in, now! Let's go!"

Gibbs ran to his car and jumped in the driver's seat. Tony and Ziva barely had time to close their doors before Gibbs sped off so quickly, the tires squealed. With heavy hearts, the three agents were on their way to see what damage had been done and to see whether or not they would be bringing Tim and his family home alive or in body bags.


	19. Chapter 18

"DiNozzo...BOSS! CAR!...Hello!" Tony couldn't keep the panic out of his voice as Gibbs swung the wheel and turned into the parking lot without slowing down. Unfortunately, Tony's phone had chosen that exact moment to ring and given the situation, he decided to answer it.

"_Tony, it's Abby. I've just got off the phone with the __LEO's. Timmy's__ car was empty. There was no one in there."_

"You sure? Abby! Are. You. Sure?" Tony couldn't help but enunciate the words. He needed to hear her say it again..._Needed to know __his Probie__ was alive._

"_I'm sure. They said that there's no evidence of anyone being in the car."_

"But that doesn't mean there wasn't, Abbs." He rubbed his hands over his eye with frustration and sighed with relief when Gibbs pulled over near the crime scene tape boundary.

"_What? Come on, you know as well as I do that if Tim had been in that car, then there'd be something left. It wouldn't have burnt hot enough to disintegrate a human body like that." _Tony heard her pause and thought he heard what sounded like a small sob. _"He's alive. He's __gotta__ be."_

"I know and you're right. I'm sorry, it's just...Never mind. Listen, we're here now so I gotta go. I'll call you later."

"_Okay. Bring him home, Tony."_

"We will. Talk to you later." He hung up and let his head fall to his chest.

"DiNozzo?"

Tony raised his head and turned towards his boss.

"There was nobody in the car. It was clear." He could see relief wash over his bosses face and grinned when he heard Ziva in the back.

"barux hashem!"

"What does that mean, Zee?" Tony asked softly as he gazed over towards Roosevelt Island.

"'Thank God', DiNozzo. It means 'thank God'." The boss chimed in as he released his seatbelt and opened the door. "Come on, we've still gotta find our man and his family."

The three agents got out of the car and made their way over to the tape. With a show of badges, they were through the barricade and making their way towards the burnt out husk of Tim's Porche Boxter. Gibbs showed his badge to the officer in charge and formally introduced his team.

"Agent Gibbs. I'm Sergeant Alvin Brooks. I understand that you are looking for one of your men."

Gibbs nodded his head. "Yeah. We got the call that his car had been found and came straight over. So, anything obvious?"

"No, Sir. We're going to have to take it in to be looked at closely before we can tell, but it looks as though it might have been deliberate."

"That's a negative, Sergeant. I'm gonna have NCIS take the car in to look at. My man's Navy, so we'll take it from here." Gibbs said gruffly knowing that he wouldn't feel comfortable with anyone but Abby looking at the car.

"Yes, Sir. I've got my troopers over there trying to find out whether or not this parking lot has security cameras. I'll let you know."

"Sarge!" One of the troopers ran over and stopped in front of his boss. "We found this at the opening of the bridge." He held up what looked like the tie that Tim had been wearing. "so I sent Peterson and Anders over the bridge to see if they could see anything. Sir, he found this."

"A syringe?" Brooks asked his man.

"Yes, Sir. I'm not sure of the contents but there are also signs of something being dragged. There are marks on the concrete that suggest something has been pulled along."

"I'll take that." Tony reached over with a gloved hand and took the needle from the young trooper so that he could bag it. "Boss, what are we gonna do?"

"I want you and Ziva to go take a look at that bridge. Make sure the LEO's don't disturb any _more_ evidence." Gibbs watched Tony and Ziva walk back to the car to collect the kits they kept in the trunks of their car.

"Now look here, Agent Gibbs..." Sergeant Brooks piped up. He hadn't missed the barb about his men and he didn't like it one bit.

"No! You look. Your men took evidence away from a crime scene. I appreciate your help, but we'll take it from here. Make yourself available in case we need you."

"They're not trained as CSI, they didn't know."

"I understand that and that is the exact reason why we're taking over. I've got teams from NCIS and MPDC coming over because the Island falls under Washington jurisdiction. If you wanna help, then I'd appreciate it." Gibbs didn't tear his eyes away from the officer in front of him and watched as a number of emotions flickered across face; they finally settled into a resigned look.

"You'll have it. Tell me what you need and I'll see what I can do."

"I appreciate that." Gibbs walked towards the bridge where Tony and Ziva were working the scene feeling a deep rooted trepidation at what might have happened.

Tony walked into Abby's lab carrying the bags of evidence that had been collected from the scene. He was struck by how silent the lab was and took in the sight of Abby fawning over a photo of Tim as she sat in front of her computer.

"Abby." He said quietly so as not to startle her too much. He waited for her to turn before stepping forward. "I've got some evidence that I need you to process. We're gonna need this ASAP."

"I know, Tony. That's why Gibbs called me. I'm gonna work on this now." Abby took the evidence and started to sift through it so she could see what the priority was.

"You okay?"

"No. Tony, I...He...I need you to get Gibbs down here. Please, I need you all here." Abby threw herself in Tony's arms and sobbed.

"What the hell? Abby, what's goin' on?" Tony asked in grave concern.

"That's what I wanna know. What's up, Abbs?" Gibbs walked in with Ziva in tow and watched as his lab rat threw herself at Tony.

"I've just got another transmission. It finished just before Tony came in. Gibbs, he's..."

"Play the tape." Gibbs commanded and watched Abby move to the laptop and start the video. They all moved over to the plasma and watched with horror as the scene played out in front of them.

"_Ahh, well here we are again. Only this time, this is for a different audience. I wanted to reach out to Agent McGee here at first, but now? Well, this is all for you, his team at NCIS. I believe you deserve to see him, don't you?_

The camera was picked up and moved so that it showed Tim, hanging unconscious from the ceiling by his arms. He looked like hell and the vivid bruises stuck out against the too pale skin. Gibbs cringed at the blood that trickled down the side of his face from a cut in his hairline and silently started to will his agent to wake up and let him know that he was alright.

"_As you can see, your man is somewhat...indisposed. I assure you, that he is alive thought I can't guarantee how long for." _The camera was moved once again to point at Tim's family. "_Them? Well, there's no change there but I will be sending you a little shopping list soon and expect every, single demand to be met."_

A groan was heard off camera and they all knew that Tim was coming round, the camera was positioned so that it focused on Tim once again.

"_Welcome back, Agent McGee. I see you've decided to join us once again." _Tim opened his eyes but winced when light assaulted them. "_I'd take it easy if I were you. You see, you may have a concussion which will no doubt be causing you pain. Now, say hello to your friends at NCIS."_

Tim raised his head and looked head on into the camera. It was obvious that he was struggling to focus and the one word uttered had them all standing there confused.

"_Ana...Analostan. swa..."_

"_What? What the hell did you say?"_

There was a collected cry of shock and outrage when a bat suddenly flew into the screen and hit Tim square in the stomach, cutting off what he was trying to get out.

"Damn it!" Gibbs swore as the screen went blank and left them standing there in shock. "Abby, what the hell did McGee say?"

"I don't know. I thought he was confused and at first it sounded like he was saying _Anal stan._ Now..." Abby trailed off and moved to her computer and started to type away. "Oh God. Gibbs he's on Roosevelt Island. Analostan is the tribe of native Indians that used to live on the island. I've pulled up a map and there's a path called the swamp trail. Maybe that's what he was trying to get out. He was telling us where he is!"

Gibbs stared at the map and nodded his head. "DiNozzo, you and Ziva get ready because we're going out to the island. I'm gonna go and talk to Vance, see how much man power we can have. Call MPDC and Sergeant Brooks to see if they can spare any one to help with the search."

"On it Boss."

"Gibbs. What can I do?" Ziva asked.

"Get a map of that island and find any information on buildings that are there. You've got fifteen minutes before we head out. Get Ducky on standby." He watched as his agents rushed out of the lab before turning to Abby. "You okay, Abbs?"

"No. Bring them home, Gibbs. Please, just bring them home." Gibbs moved forward and pulled her into a hug.

"We will, Abbs." He kissed her on the side of her head. "Good work."

Gibbs pulled away and swept out of the room leaving Abby standing there looking at the door that he had hurried out of.

"Please, find him."

The team were back at the parking lot to Terence Roosevelt Island an hour later and were pleasantly surprised by the large team that was collected there. Gibbs moved forward and whistled loudly to get their attention.

"I'm Senior Agent Gibbs from NCIS. Thanks for coming to help. I'm sure you all know why you are here. Agent's DiNozzo and Da'vid are currently handing out maps of the island. You'll will split up into teams of three and search the area's that are highlighted. We believe that Agent McGee and his family are being held around the Swamp trail area so we'll concentrate our search there." Gibbs watched as the large group co-ordinated themselves into smaller groups of three. "There are radios at the mouth of the bridge. Take one and check in every half hour unless you find anything before that. My team and I'lll take point, follow suit."

"Agent Gibbs." Gibbs turned at the familiar voice and saw Jim and Andy jogging up to him.

"Jim. What're you doing here?"

"Abby called and told us what was going on. We wanna help." Jim said with a strong determination that rocked Gibbs slightly.

"Alright. You teamed up?"

"No Sir." Andy jumped in. "We just got here."

"Then you stay with us. Keep close and DO NOT wander off. You might be in danger since you're related, Jim."

"Understood."

"Ziva, give them a copy of our map and fill them in on the way."

Gibbs moved towards the bridge with his team and the two LEO's behind him. He could hear Ziva and Tony filling them in and as he reached down to grab a radio, he glanced back to see Jim raptly listening to what was going on. The weird thing was, Andy seemed to be listening with half an ear and was busy scanning the bridge before him.

"Problem, Officer Rogers?" Gibbs asked with irritation.

"No Sir. I was just getting a feel for the island." Andy answered lightly.

"Keep your head in the game. We can't afford to lose anyone today, so pay attention." Gibbs growled at Andy knowing that the young man hadn't heard half of what had been said to him.

"Yes, Sir. Sorry."

With a curt nod, Gibbs started to lead the way over the bridge feeling uneasiness in his gut at what he'd just seen. _Why was Andy so damn blasé about it all?._ He shook it off and felt Tony jog up by the side of him.

"Boss, do you think it's a good idea letting them come along? I mean, Jim's a high risk and I don't know about Andy. There's something off about him."

"I know, DiNozzo. I've seen it too. Keep your eye on him."

"No problem."

"As far as, Jim goes, if it was your family, would you stay behind." Gibbs could see the cogs turning in his agents mind and frowned. Sure, Tony only had his father, if you could call him that. But the team was his family and he hoped that Tony would use that to make the connection.

"No. Guess not, but my family is the team. You know that."

"Yeah, I know." Gibbs nodded. "C'mon, let's go find McGee."

Tony and Gibbs kept point and glanced back periodically to make sure Ziva was following with the two officers. It didn't take long before they saw the end of the bridge in sight and gasped at what they saw in front of them. Gagged and bound at the end was...

"Is that...? Jesus, Boss. It's the McGee's!" Tony and Gibbs sprinted over to the unconscious family and knelt down to help them.

Recalling the brutal beating Mr. McGee had reiceved, Ziva yanked out her cell phone and called for the ambulances Ducky had arranged to have on standby.

Tony was just releasing Jacob's blindfold and gag when he heard Angela wimper as she came round.

"No! Please, stop. Let us go!"

He felt his heart break but knew that Gibbs had it in hand and let his boss' gentle words wash over him as he took stock of Tim's father's injuries. He was appalled at what he found and knew that there was no way this man had walked here.

"Wha...where...ANGELA! SARAH!" Jacob tried to sit up but was stopped by Tony's firm hands on his shoulders.

"Hey. No, stay down. We've got EMT's on the way."

"Who..."

"Tony DiNozzo. I work with your son." Tony could see realization bloom in the older McGee's eyes and struggled to keep him down at the mention of Tim.

"Is he here? Where's my son? Is my family okay?"

"Angela's being taken care of by Gibbs and Sarah's with Jim. They're in good hands. Tim's..."

"He is not here." Ziva whispered in his ear as she crouched down to help Tony. "It is just his wife and daughter."

"Oh, God. He still has him. My boy...he wasn't doing so well. He was knocked out but he took some hits to his back and stomach. I'm pretty sure his shoulders are hurting too because of the way he's tied up." Mr. McGee lamented tearfully.

"Jacob!" Angela's distressed voice rang out and Jacob turned to see her being supported by Gibbs as she came over. "Oh no! Are you okay, Honey?"

"Ang, he's still got, Tim! Where's Sarah?"

"She's still out but Jim's with her." Angela let out a strangled sob "Jim and Anna are in D.C.!"

"D.C.? We're in Washington?" Jacob felt the first wave of pain assault him as the drugs he had been given slowly drained out of his system. He screwed his face up and hissed.

"Apparently...Jake, You alright? No, no, no..."

At that moment, six EMT's could be seen pushing 3 gurney's over the bridge. "Mrs. McGee. The medics are here now, so we need you to sit down and let them take care of you and your family. Keep in mind, Tim would want you to get yourself looked after, so let the EMT's do their jobs."

Angela nodded at Gibbs and sank down heavily beside her husband. She glanced over towards Sarah and saw the EMT's assessing her.

"Ma'am. Can you tell me where you are hurt?" A sympathetic EMT asked her.

"I'm not. Just..." Angela slumped forward and sobbed into her hands. "Tim, my son. They've still got my son."

"Angela, we're going to find him and bring him home, okay?" Gibbs pulled the distraught woman into his arms.

"Please, Agent Gibbs, find my son! Bring him back to us. Please, please, please..." Her cries tore through the night and the people that lined either side of the bridge all felt their hearts breaking.

"We will."

With a nod to the EMT's, He watched as they loaded all three McGee's onto the gurneys and wheeled them away to the ambulances that waited in the parking lot.

With a frown, he looked at Tony, Ziva and Jim and noticed that Andy wasn't with them. "Where's your partner?" He asked Jim vehemently. "I don't know. He was with us before we found Jacob, Angela and Sarah." Jim broke off and looked around for signs of his partner. He pointed towards the bridge when he caught sight of Andy leaning against the one of the posts. "He's over there. Must have stepped back to let us help." Gibbs whistled loudly and jerked his head when Andy looked his way. "We need to get going." "We must find him, Gibbs." Ziva jumped in with a deep conviction knowing that now they were just standing there, they were wasting time.

"We will, Ziva. DiNozzo, Call Vance and let him know we've got the McGee's and that we're carrying on with the search to find Tim." The use of Tim's given name struck a chord with Tony who simply nodded and pulled out his cell. With a sigh, he turned to the people who were waiting on the bridge.

"Our man's still out there! Let's go and find him."

With that, Gibbs turned and stalked off into the tree's leaving his team and the two officers with nothing to do but rush after him.

"Boss, shouldn't we talk to the McGee's? They might be able to help." Tony asked.

"Do you think they're in any condition right now? They're injured and in shock." Gibbs reasoned in his no nonsense, take no prisoners tone that no one ever argued with. "We carry on with the search and we bring our boy home alive."

Gibbs stalked off into the woods to find Tim knowing that no matter what, Tim would be coming home with him. No other outcome would be acceptable.


	20. Chapter 19

Gibbs moved the torch as he walked, casting a moving arc of light in front of him. They had been searching for hours and had followed the swamp trail as far as it went before moving onto another trail. So far, they had nothing.

"Boss. Look, its dark and the chances of finding anything tonight are slim to none. I want to find McGee just as much as you, but we'll be better of coming back at first light."

Gibbs glanced at Tony and sighed heavily before looking at his watch; 2030 hours. _Damn, they'd been out her for a long time._ "We're not giving up on him, DiNozzo!"

"Who said anything about giving up? We've got other people out here looking and I'm pretty sure that they're gonna need to rest. We're not invincible and we'd be better off with a clear head."

"Not gonna happen. We keep lookin'." Gibbs said with a quiet conviction that bore no argument. "I'm not leaving without my man."

"Gibbs..." Ziva had kept quiet up until then but felt the need to pipe up.

"Damn it!" Gibbs hissed. "I don't leave my people behind, you know that!" He bit out remember the time when he used that exact same saying against someone.

"Yes Boss, we know: 'Once a Marine, always a Marine.' We're not tryin' to leave him behind…"

"Of course, Gibbs." Ziva cut Tony off to stave off any more strife between the two of them.

Just as Gibbs was about to answer his agents, his cell phone trilled loudly in the serene silence of the surrounding forestry.

"Yeah, Gibbs."

"_Where are you?"_

"Roosevelt Island tryin' to find my agent, Leon! Where do you think I am?" Gibbs spat out with a harsh whisper, holding back on the bitter remark that was on the tip of his tongue.

"_Still? Gibbs, you and your team have been out there for hours. I'm ordering you home to get some rest."_

"Can't do that, Leon. I need to find Mc..."

"_What use are you gonna be to him if you can't think straight enough to find him? Get your team back to D.C. so you can all rest. I understand Jim is still with you."_

"Yeah, So?" Gibbs really wasn't in the mood for this and was getting more and more agitated with every passing second. He glanced up and saw Andy leaning against a tree with his phone in his hand, it looked like he was sending a text message.

"_So, I've had his wife on the phone. She's still at the hospital with the McGee's and would like the support of her husband. Get him there!"_

"Leon, there is no way in hell I'm leaving. If you want Jim at the hospital then you get someone here to take him back."

"_Let me make this perfectly clear. If you and your team, including the LEO's, are not back in D.C. in the next half hour then you're all gonna face disciplinary action for disobeying a direct order!"_ Gibbs heard the Director sigh heavily on the other end. "_I'm not trying to make this difficult for you, Gibbs and I want to find our boy as much as you do. That's why I've pulled in a couple of favors that are still owed to us. There's a Ch-46 Sea Knight helicopter, equipped with heat sensors and night vision capabilities for search and rescue with means of tracking from the air, ready for deployment on my order"._

"You...what?" Gibbs narrowed his eyes as the information sank in. "Heat and night vision?"

"_Yes. Now, get everyone doing the search off the island and let the helicopter crew do their job. If your man's there, he'll show up on their scans and you'll be able to go in and get McGee at daybreak."_

"Fine. But we're back here first thing, Leon! I'm goin' to the hospital with Jim. DiNozzo and Ziva will take Andy back to pick up his car and will come in for a debriefing."

"_Okay. I'll be here. Jackie's taken the kids over to their grandparents' anyway. I'll expect a full run down, Gibbs. So make sure they're fully briefed on the situation."_

The line went dead leaving Gibbs standing there completely at a loss as to what to do. On one hand, he could disobey and carry on looking, on the other he could let the copter crew do its thing and go and talk to the McGee's if they were up to it. He looked up and saw Andy smirking at something on his phone.

"Something amusing you, Officer Rogers?" Gibbs felt a pang of satisfaction at the look of shock that flickered across the LEO's face.

"No, Sir. Sorry."

"About what, exactly? My man is still out here missing somewhere and you're standing there sending text messages and smiling. When we get back, you need to just get in your car and go back home."

"What? Come on. I can help you al….."

"That's not a request!" Gibbs stalked off leaving the four members of the search party standing there in shock. He paused and threw a murderous look over his shoulder. "What are you waiting for? We've been recalled. DiNozzo, get on the radio and tell the search teams to go home. Get them to make damn sure they check in with the coordinating team at the parking lot before they leave."

"On it, Boss."

"Ziva, I'm takin' you and DiNozzo back to NCIS before I drop Andy off at his car. Jim's comin' with me. I want you and Tony to.."

"Update Director Vance on the situation regarding McGee, Yes?"

"Yeah." With that, Gibbs made sure that all four people were following him as he made his way back to the parking lot feeling as though the weight of the world had just landed on his shoulders, crushing any hope of finding his man tonight and increasing the chances that when they did find him, they'd be bringing home a body.

* * *

"Well, that went well." Tony announced after he had debriefed Vance with Ziva. "I mean…damn, I don't know what I mean."

"You did not know that Abby had not told him about last video. I am sure that she will not hold it against you. The fault is with her for not doing so." Ziva soothed, though she knew that the Goth probably would have something to say on the matter. She put her backpack down by the side of the desk and watched as Tony sunk unhappily into his chair.

"I know, but he was pis….."

"What're you guys doing back here? I thought you were out loo…..Oh my God, have you found him? Is he alright? Is his family okay?" Abby's diatribe reached them from the elevator and got louder and louder as she met them at their desks.

"Abby, calm down. No we haven't found Probie but Vance called everyone back because he's pulled in a favor. There's a helicopter at the Island as we speak, doing its thing. Hopefully we'll have something to work with in the morning. We're hoping they'll have found him by then."

"What do you mean, Tony? A helicopter?" Abby questioned with a frown.

"Yes. Apparently the Director used up his store of favors to get it there and wanted us to get some rest before we go back early in the morning. Why are you still here?"

"Oh. Um, I was restless so stayed behind to watch the laptop. No more transmissions yet."

"Aww crap. Listen, Abby. About the last transmission, you didn't tell Vance?" Tony rubbed his hand over his eyes to try and get rid of some of the exhaustion he felt.

"Oh no! I forgot. I was…Is he mad?" Abby started panicking at the fact that she'd failed to keep the Director informed. "I better go up there and talk to him."

"He was a little bit..How do you say… incensed, at the fact that he was not kept up to date. Do not worry, we have spoken with him and he is fine, now."

"Thanks, Ziva. So, what happened?"

"Well, Vance said he didn't appre….." Tony started to say before being cut dead by Abby's best death glare.

"At the Island!"

"Oh right. Um, well we didn't find McGee but his family had been delivered to the end of the bridge. Gift wrapped too." Tony cringed at what he just said and shook his head. He'd used that tone once before with Tim after Kate's death and had regretted it then. "Sorry. I'm just so damn tired and can't Probie out of my mind. We've gotta find him and this is just pointless. We're just sitting here while that S.O.B. has him."

Abby moved over and perched on Tony's knee so she could wrap her arms around his neck and pull him to a hug. "I know, Tony. I know. Oh hey, why don't we all go back to My place so that we can be together tonight. At least if we're not gonna sleep, we won't be alone."

"I would like that very much, Abby. Thank you." Said Ziva gratefully. "Tony?"

"Sure. Where's Jethro?"

"The Boss? He called to say he was taking Jim over to the hospital."

"The mutt, Abby! Where's the mutt?" Tony rubbed his hand over his face again and sighed heavily wondering how it was possible that Abby could be so _dense _sometimes!

"Oh, he's fine. He's at my place too. He's pining."

"I'm sure he is. Come on, I know you don't wanna deal with the Director right about now. Go grab the laptop and we'll grab take out on the way home." Tony patted her back as she stood and sat there lost in his thoughts for a minute before getting his stuff together.

"Ziva, you wanna drive or would you rather come with me?"

"I will come with you. I do not think Abby has much parking space at her apartment."

"Okay. I'll ask, Abbs too because she shouldn't really be driving anyway. You ready?"

At Ziva's nod, they made their way down to Abby's lab to urge her on before making their way to Tony's car. Each one of them knew it was going to be a long night.

* * *

Gibbs sat in the waiting room of Bethesda hospital waiting for news on the family. He was currently on his third coffee since arriving and felt each caffeine jolt surge through him and intensify his frustration. He decided that it was probably best not to drink the third and placed it on the small table in front of him.

"Something wrong with the coffee?" Jim asked as he walked in with his wife.

"Nope. Just drank too much."

"Uh-huh. Anna, you know what? Coffee sounds pretty darn good right about now." He gave his wife his best puppy dog eyes and watched as she smiled tightly and handed over their slumbering daughter.

"I'll go get us all some fresh cups then. If she wakes up, there's a bottle and pacifier in her bag. She might be hungry so just ask the nurses to warm it up. They've been really good about that."

"Sure, honey. Go on, you look like you could do with a break." He leaned over and kissed her forehead tenderly.

"I'll be back soon, sweetheart."

The two men watched as she retreated silently before Jim sank down heavily in one of the hard, uncomfortable chairs.

"How are they?" Gibbs asked quietly

"Not good. The good news is, Angela and Sarah have got away with some minor bruising and scrapes. Jacob….He's not so good. Both of his knees got beaten pretty badly. One knee cap is shattered and the other is fractured. They're gonna take him into surgery as soon as he's stabilized."

"What? Why?"

"He'd been beaten pretty thoroughly and he's got a grade 2 concussion along with some questionable test results. His BP was low and he'd lost some blood, though shock probably factored in somewhere. He's going to be okay, but it's gonna take a long time for him to heal."

Gibbs nodded and exhaled loudly, he'd hoped against hope that what they'd seen on the video feed hadn't been near as bad as it had looked. Hearing about the extent of the older man's injuries just made him worry more about what the perp was doing to Tim.

"Tim's a fighter, Gibbs. He might not look it, but that boy has got a heart of gold and his father's stubbornness. If he holds onto the hope that he will be found, then he'll fight it."

"I know. Shouldn't have to though." Gibbs picked up the coffee and took a long swig. "Think I can talk to Angela or Sarah?"

"I don't know. The nurses are ruling with iron fists. I think they sedated Sarah because she was in hysterics when she came in. Angela's just shut down so how much you'd get out of her, I don't know."

"I'm gonna try anyway. Need to find out what she knows." Gibbs stood up and glanced down at the peaceful little girl wrapped in her daddy's arms. He noticed that one stray curl was resting in her eyes and reached down to brush it back. "She's beautiful."

"Thanks. She's a handful. This age is one of the best, but it's hard."

"Yes, it is. Just enjoy it." With that sentiment, Gibbs walked out towards the nurses' station with the thoughts of Kelly firmly in his mind.

Gibbs steeled himself as he stood at the door to Angela McGee's hospital room. It had taken some doing, but he'd finally talked one of the nurses into letting him in to talk to her for a few minutes.

"Angela?" Gibbs announced quietly with a soft rap on the door. He frowned when she moved her head to look at him before letting her gaze fall back to the window.

"Angela, I need to ask you a few questions. Is that alright?" Nothing, not a peep out of the woman laying there on the bed. Gibbs noticed the way her hands shook and moved to take her right one in his. "It's important. If it gets too much, I'll stop; but we need to find out who did this."

"Need to find my son first, Gibbs. Oh God…Please, you need to find my little, Tim." Angela sobbed out as the memories of Tim bound and unconscious washed over her like a tidal wave.

"We will. We've got specialist equipment searching tonight. We'll find him, Mrs. McGee. That I can promise you!"

"Alive, Agent Gibbs?" Angela looked frantic and the words seemed to get stuck in her throat. "And it's Angela, you can call me, Angela."

"Angela." Gibbs nodded. "You can call me, Jethro." Gibbs moved to sit in the chair next to the bed. "May I?"

"Of course, Jethro." Angela gave a small smile as a memory flitted through her mind. "You know, he calls you Boss or Gibbs when he talks to us. Never Jethro."

"Who?"

"Tim. My baby…." That was all it took to tear down the last of her stoic resolve and she dissolved into tears. Gibbs stood up and drew her into his arms. After a few minutes, he pulled away and reached over to grab a tissue.

"Here."

"Thank you. I'm sorry, I need to be strong for my family. Especially, Tim and Jacob."

"Jim told me about, Jacob. I'm sorry, it can't be easy not being with him."

"It is. It's hard being away from Sarah too, but they say she can be moved in here as soon as she wakes up so at least we can be together. Hopefully, I can be discharged tomorrow. Just need to get some fluids in me to help with the dehydration and then I'll be fine."

"You need to rest and will stay here for as long as you need to. McG…Tim wouldn't expect anything less." Gibbs instructed softly knowing that the woman would be up and about to help the rest of her family rather than looking after her own health. "Let Jim and Anna help out where they can ."

"I don't know. I'm just so used to doing and while Tim is out there, I feel useless."

"Angela, whatever you can tell me will be useful." Gibbs waited for Tim's mother to look at him. "Is there anything that you can tell me about this guy?"

"Not much. He's got some kind of grudge against, Tim. I just can't figure it out but all he kept muttering when he thought we were sleeping was something about getting booted out of Winthrop and then failing the application to the Police Academy being the final straw."

"Booted out?"

"Yes. He talked to someone and he was going on about how he dishonored his father's name and that the quote '_Damn NCiS agent'_ really screwed him over when he was interviewed. I'm guessing it was Tim given we're the targets."

"Huh. He mention a name?"

"No, but he did call the other guy A R and laughed. That sound, it was like nails down a chalkboard…" Angela shuddered at the memory.

"The rest of the time, unless he was using the camera or beating my husband, he didn't speak. He didn't hurt me and Sarah, just… opened our blouses and …. Mrs. McGee visibly shuddered at the memory that she couldn't even bring herself to finish explaining.

"I'm sorry you both had to go through that." Gibbs offered with feeling. "We will find Tim and get this sick bastard behind bars where he belongs. Until then, do you think you could give a statement if I send some agents over tomorrow?"

"Of course. Anything to help."

"Alright then." Gibbs reached over and placed his hand over hers. "You need to get some rest. Angela, you've been more than helpful."

Gibbs stood up and started walking to the door. He was stopped when he heard Angela's scared voice behind him.

"Jethro."

"Yeah."

"How can we get past this? How can we move on? My whole family is scarred."

"You can start by accepting the help that is offered. We don't give it readily, but for you and your family, it's there without question. Just take it one day at a time, and let others be there for you."

"Thank you." Angela lay back down against her pillows and continued gazing out of the window. Gibbs moved out of the door and walked down the corridor back into the waiting room with a churning gut. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Abby's number.

"_Gibbs. How're the McGee's?"_

"Not too good, Abs but they're alive. Where are you?"

"_I'm at home with Tony and Ziva, why?"_

"I need some information. All three of you get back to the office and find out who it is that McGee has interviewed while he's been with us."

"_Interviewed? Why?" _Gibbs heard Tony questioning Abby in the background. "_Hang on Gibbs."_

"_Tony, Gibbs wants to know who McGee's interviewed since joining the team."_

"_Well that's easy, there's only been a couple of people. Here, give me the phone." _Gibbs heard some shuffling before Tony came on the line. "_Boss, there's only one that I can remember. A kid called….Damn what was he called. Justin…no, Jason…yeah Jason….."_

"Jason Geckler?" Gibbs jumped in as the name rang alarm bells in his mind.

"_That's the one. I remember speaking to Probie. He said the kid was a bully and reminded him of when he was at school."_

"DiNozzo, get to the office and pull that interview. I want to know exactly what was said word for word. While you're at it, find out who else McGee has interviewed and pull those too." Gibbs said with a hint of agitation in his voice.

"_Why? I mean surely…. Boss, that was way back in that first month after you came back from Mexico!"_

"Yeah, Tony, I remember. Look, Angela McGee said the kidnapper muttered under his breath about an NCIS agent screwing him over. Given the fact that it's McGee's family that have suffered, it's a safe bet that McGee did the interview."

"_You're not kidding, are you? Course you're not.. Right, I'm on my way, Boss." _Gibbs heard the shuffling again and heard Tony filling Ziva in.

"_Gibbs, is there anything that I can do." _Abby asked.

"No, Abbs. Just be ready when we need you."

"_You sure? It's just that I feel useless."_

"Abbs, get some rest okay. It's gonna be a long day tomorrow."

"_Sure. Talk to you later."_

Gibbs made his way into the waiting room and sank down into one of the chairs and started to go over the situation in his mind.

_Why did an interview damage someone's career so much? Especially McGee's interview, the kid was the good cop._

_Why the family? Why not go straight for the target?_

Gibbs sat back and huffed out a harsh sigh of frustration as he remembered Tim's nightmare and the lengths that he was willing to go to keep his family safe. The noise woke Jim and Anna from their nap.

"Gibbs? What's wrong?"

"After everything that has happened, Jim. The one thing I can't get my head around is how the hell, Tim dreamt about this before it happened."

"I have no idea but, then again, I haven't had a whole lotta time to even think about that." Jim said honestly and rubbed his hand up and down Izzy's back.

"Same here, but I can't help but wonder."

"Sure. You want more coffee?" Jim asked noticing that Gibbs didn't have one. "I could do with some more faster than my wife seems to be bringing it back.."

"No thanks. I'm going to get back to NCIS and meet my other agents there. I Pretty sure, I won't be sleepin' tonight, so gotta keep busy."

"Fair enough, I'll see you later."

Jim walked out leaving Gibbs with no choice but to say his goodbyes to Anna and leave. As soon as he was in the car, the fact that McGee had some kind of premonition ran through his mind again. With a huff, he gripped the steering wheel and said the words that he hoped and prayed would reach the young man.

_"McGee, you better fight this. You don't have permission to give up! We will find you, you just hang on, Son."_


	21. Chapter 20

**Hey guys. Thanks for your fabulous review and for letting us know about the repeats in chapter 19. No idea what happened there, but it's been rectified now.**

**You guys rock!**

* * *

Gibbs walked into the squad room and moved towards his desk to start helping with the search. He'd been completely lost in his own little world with worried thoughts of Tim and what was being done to him swirling around in his mind and completely missed the fill compliment of people filling his team's desk when he sat down. When he looked up, he was surprised to see an excitable Alsatian sitting up on his hind legs, resting his paws on the other side of his desk.

"What the…?" He finally glanced around and saw that every single desk was strewn with paperwork that Tony, Ziva and Abby had been carefully picking their way through. "What's goin' on? Abby, I thought I told ya to get some rest."

Abby looked abashed and turned to look at Tony who had leaned back in his chair with one of the files sitting in his lap.

"Well, I was gonna come back and do the work alone, but have you ever been ganged up on by a lab rat that could kill you and leave no evidence and a ninja?" Gibbs' eyes narrowed at Tony's comment leaving his Senior Field Agent squirming slightly in his seat. "Ah, that would be a no then. Anyway, they insisted on coming and threatened me with bodily harm if I didn't let them."

"And the dog?" Gibbs ground out through gritted teeth as Jethro carried on staring at him with his tail wagging.

"Come on, Gibbs! We couldn't leave him. He misses his dad." Abby added as Jethro barked once to get Gibbs' attention. Gibbs shook his head and reached over to pet the dog.

"Missing, McGee are ya?"

"I believe the term, Abby used was 'pining'."

"Yep. That's exactly what I said, Ziva." Abby picked up one of the files but dropped bit back on the desk when an idea hit her. "Gibbs, Gibbs. I have an idea! You're all going back in the morning, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Take Jethro with you! He's a trained drug dog so he's gonna be good at following a scent. He can help find, Timmy!"

"And if he gets hurt helpin' us out? You think, McGee would thank you for that?" Gibbs asked.

"No, but you'll protect him. Come on! He can be useful and you know how protective he is of Tim!"

"We'll see, Abbs." Gibbs replied quietly knowing that Abby's suggestion made sense. "So, whattaya got?"

"Well, I've pulled the Jason Geckler interview, Boss and it's interesting. The other interviews don't really hold much weight; well not enough to cause this, but this…" Tony held up the file. "Is definitely a possibility."

"I have been reading through Geckler's records and he has been arrested on more than one occasion. It looks as though he has been on the wrong side of the law more since being rejected by the military academy and the police force."

"In what way, Ziva?" Gibbs bit out and waited for her to transfer the records onto the plasma.

"Since being rejected, he has been arrested for assault on numerous occasions. They seem to be misdemeanors of sorts because they stem from alcohol induced fighting. There are a couple of statements from the other people involved, where they say Geckler is aggressive and started the arguments."

"I'm not sure I'd call assault a _misdemeanor_!" Tony objected.

"They are down in his records as being drunk and disorderly rather than assault. If you read through the reports, then you get more of a sense that it was, in fact the case." Ziva replied.

"Where is this going?" Gibbs was getting more and more impatient with every passing second and the fact that his team seemed to be beating about the bush was grating on his last nerve.

"There's a recurring theme throughout, Boss." Tony stood up and moved towards the screen. He picked up the wireless mouse and clicked before waiting for the screen to display two witness statements that were in the file. "Look at the names."

Gibbs moved forward and looked at the names of the people that had made the complaints against Geckler.

_McGarret_

_McGea_

_"You gotta be kidding me!" Gibbs exclaimed and watched with horror as Tony flicked through a few more statements._

_McGeady_

_McGeany_

"He's picking out the names that sound like…."

"Probie. Yeah, he is. The other common thing is the fact that all of the fights happened in Irish pubs and I'm guessing he picked them out before hand. It's premeditated, Boss."

"Damn it!" Gibbs slammed his hand down on his desk. "This has been brewing for years. When we find McGee, I want you to contact the people you have there and get them in here to give witness statements. Right now, we find McGee and get this bastard because I wanna know why!"

"Boss, Here's the transcript of the interview if you're interested. It might help a little bit." Gibbs took the folder and opened it to the page he needed.

**INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT.**

_This transcript is an official, work for word count of the interview conducted between:_

_NCIS Special Agent Timothy McGee and Jason Geckler (Suspect)_

_SPECIAL AGENT TIMOTHY MCGEE: Jason Geckler. My name is Special Agent Special Agent Timothy McGee, NCIS._

_JASON GECKLER: Like I told your other agents, I'm not saying anything until my dad gets here._

_SPECIAL AGENT TIMOTHY MCGEE: He's on his way. He also said that he expects you to give us your full cooperation._

___JASON GECKLER: Yeah? And how do I know that you really talked to him?_

_____SPECIAL AGENT TIMOTHY MCGEE: Well, he wanted me to remind you that Winthrop Military Academy is still accepting applications._

_______JASON GECKLER: He would never send me there. The kind that costs money, dude?_

_________SPECIAL AGENT TIMOTHY MCGEE: Does it look familiar? It was being used by two of your classmates, a Timothy Griffin and Daniel Austin. They said they got it from you._

___________JASON GECKLER: Did they now? Well, I'll just have to be sure to thank them for that when I get home._

_____________SPECIAL AGENT TIMOTHY MCGEE: Look, a women's life is at stake here, okay? I need to know where you got the phone. (LONG BEAT) Tim and Dan, they must be pretty scared of you, huh?_

_______________JASON GECKLER: What makes you say that?_

_________________SPECIAL AGENT TIMOTHY MCGEE: Come on. They're obviously geeks. We used to shove them into lockers. Pull their gym shorts off in class. Drop their books down the toilet. It was even better if they start crying, right?_

___________________JASON GECKLER: Or wet their pants._

_____________________SPECIAL AGENT TIMOTHY MCGEE: Yeah, well that, too. You know what the best part is? When you get older, you're not going to remember their names, but you know what? They're always going to remember yours. That's pretty cool, huh?_

_______________________JASON GECKLER: You know, I really haven't thought about it too much._

_________________________SPECIAL AGENT TIMOTHY MCGEE: Well, I have. You know why? Because I was one of those kids. And I've been looking forward to this day my entire life, dirtbag._

___________________________JASON GECKLER: But I didn't do anything!_

_____________________________SPECIAL AGENT TIMOTHY MCGEE: I've got you for aiding and abetting a kidnapping, interfering a Federal investigation, and selling stolen property. Do you know what that means? That means they can try you as an adult, Geck. And when you're in prison, every night when you're crying yourself to sleep, I want you to think of me, tough guy. We're done here. See you in court._

_______________________________JASON GECKLER: Wait, wait, wait, wait. Look, I found it, all right? I can show you where._

"No reason to hold a grudge though, DiNozzo." Gibbs closed the file and tossed it on his desk.

"Yeah, but this is." Tony handed over another file and waited for Gibbs to read it. Five minutes later, Gibbs huffed out a breath and glanced up at Tony.

"So, this interview was the reason they rejected him. How the hell did that even stay in his file?"

"He was charged with tampering with evidence." Tony handed him another piece of paper. "When the evidence came in against him, the judge kind of took pity on him because of his age and rather than give him a long sentence in Juvie. He gave him an unconditional suspended sentence which means that even though there's no punishment, it stays in his record."

"So he got knocked back." Gibbs said knowingly as the impact of what the kid did sank in.

"Yeah. He saw that interview as damning and focused his anger on McGee. Unfortunately, that carried over. Boss, what worries me now, is that all the pent up anger he's had over the years is gonna be aimed at Probie."

"I know, DiNozzo. Okay, you all did good tonight but we've gotta be up early in the morning to find our man. Go home and rest."

"What about, Jethro?" Abby jumped in hoping to get an answer to her earlier idea.

"We'll take him. Hopefully he'll be able to catch a scent trail. Now scoot." When his team didn't move he glared at them all until one of them spoke.

"Er, Boss. Can we…I mean it's okay if we can't, but I think we all need to be together….."

"You all wanna stay at mine?" Gibbs asked as the elevator dinged and Ducky stepped out. "Duck? What're you doing here?"

"I was restless so I thought I would come in and offer my services." He glanced around at the mess of paperwork. "Looks as though you have all been busy."

The next half hour was spent getting Ducky up to date with what they had found and once they had done the M.E. looked grave.

"Oh dear. This does not bode well I'm afraid. What is the plan of action now?"

"Looks like I've got visitors for the night seein' as they're hell bent on staying with me."

"Might I make a small suggestion?" Ducky interjected.

"What?"

"My house is larger and there are enough rooms to accommodate you all. Why don't you stay with me and I'll cook us all a nice meal." At the look at the stunned faces of his colleagues, Ducky smiled ruefully. "It would be nice to have that big old house full for a change, albeit temporary."

"You sure?" Gibbs asked.

"Absolutely."

"Change of plan, we're goin' to Duck's. Grab your overnights and anything you need for tomorrow and meet us there."

"What about, Jethro, Gibbs?"

"Ask, Ducky." Gibbs grabbed his pack and headed out before anyone could fire another question his way. Abby turned to Ducky with a hopeful look on her face.

"Of course, Jethro is most welcome. I have a nice big garden and I believe I still have some of mother's corgi's bowls somewhere that he can use. I will stop off on the way and get him some food." Abby threw herself at Ducky and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, Ducky. You're the best."

The next morning was proof that the decision to stay together had been the right one. Last night had helped them all connect as both team mates and friends with a unified goal and the evening had been spent discussing the case and supporting each other through the tempest of emotions that flickered through them. At first it had been slightly uncomfortable and it wasn't until they all sat down at Ducky's large table to eat dinner that they truly started to talk, from that point on, it was easy.

Ducky spent half an hour preparing the guest rooms and was pleasantly surprised when Abby asked If she could bunk in with Ziva, something that the newest member of the team agreed to readily knowing that the Goth would rest better with someone there; she was surprised that Abby chose her though but didn't question it.

Now, they were all sat around the table reluctantly eating a hearty full breakfast consisting of sausage, bacon, egg, mushrooms, toast and…

"Ducky, I don't mean to be funny, but what the heck is this?" Tony picked up the small, round black thing off his plate and scrunched his nose.

"Ahh, black pudding, dear boy. It's the food of kings." Ducky chuckled slightly "And Scots and Brits alike. Taste it, you might like it."

"Black pudding." Tony repeated cautiously and sniffed the offending food item sitting on his fork.

"Anthony, it is not a rarity and is quite common in the British Isles and very nearly always accompanies a full English breakfast. There are many different variations but I'll admit is quite hard to find in the states, though the Italian American's do have their own type called Biroldo. I, on the other hand, have made this recently."

"Blood pudding?" Ziva asked with a hint of disgust. "I am pleased that I follow a kosher diet. That does not appeal." She glanced down at the plate that Ducky had prepared for her and was happy that the M.E. had remembered the fact that she couldn't eat the same food and had catered to her diet. She cut the corner off of the French toast and placed it gently in her mouth.

"blood pudding?" Tony chocked out. "No offence, Ducky, but do I have to….."

"For cyrin' outloud, DiNozzo, Give it here!" Gibbs reached over and took it off Tony's fork before tucking in to it happily. Ducky had introduced him to it years ago, and he had to admit, he liked it.

"Yes, well. It is an acquired taste." Ducky allowed with a smile to ease the moment.

"Ducky, I can't eat anymore. I'm sorry." Abby's small voice carried across to Ducky and she watched as he frowned at how little she had eaten.

"Try some more, my dear. It's going to be a long day and I will feel happier knowing that you all have full bellies, especially you three." Ducky pointed to Gibbs, Tony and Ziva. "I don't like the idea of you all traipsing around that Island with an empty fuel tank. Jethro has already been fed and I have filled up a couple of water bottles for him. There's water and some snacks for you all in a backpack in the kitchen."

"Thanks, Duck."

"You are very welcome. Now, I want to talk to you all about me tagging along with you all. I would like to come along, After seeing the video feed, we know that Timothy will need medical assistance."

"No. You and Abb's are gonna stay here."

"Jethro, I can be of help."

"Duck, you had medics there yesterday. Put them on standby again."

"And what use will they be if they are waiting in the parking lot? They will not there right away and I would very much rather not keep Timothy waiting for medical attention when you find him."

"Alright, Duck But….." Gibbs' cell phone rang at that moment and when he checked the ID, he saw that it was Vance.

"Leon."

"Gibbs, you wanna tell me why I've had Andy Roger's Chief on the phone reaming a new one for sending his man home?" Vance's sharp, authoritative tone rang through the receiver on his phone.

"Sending him home? Leon, he was standing there sending a text message on his phone smirking yesterday."

"He was sent as liason and the chief is pissed beyond all measure."

"They don't have jurisdiction here and why the hell do we need a liason?" Gibbs frowned at the one thing he hated….politics.

"To save face. Apparently Andy went to him when Jim used his leave to be with his family and convinced him to that the two agencies should work together. He agreed."

"Why? It doesn't make sense."

"No it doesn't, but for the sake of inter departmental relationships, we're going along with it. He's coming back to help with the search. It makes their department look good so play nice."

"I have a say in this?" Gibbs asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"No."

"Fine." He hung up and turned back to Ducky. "You can come, Duck. Grab your gear." He stalked out towards his car and sat waiting for his team to join him.

Andy stood in the parking lot waiting for everyone to arrive. Sure, he knew and understood how pissed Gibbs would be, but there was no way in hell he wasn't going to be here. He pulled out his phone and checked the display to see whether any messages had come through. At the sight of the little closed envelope that signaled a text message, he opened his phone and read it.

**Be careful**

Was all it said, but it was enough to send a jolt of excitement through him. He clicked the reply button and sent one back.

**Don't worry, I've got it in hand. Just take care of things there.**

With a grin, he put his phone back in his pocket and cocked his head to the side slightly when he saw Gibbs' car pull in…..Oh yeah, today's gonna be a good day.

Tony's eyes narrowed when he saw Andy leaning against his car and glanced over to his Boss. Gibbs' jaw had clenched painfully at the sight and Tony just knew there was going to be some kind of explosion today.

"Boss?"

"Vance ordered it, DiNozzo. Suck it up."

Tony shook his head and waited for Gibbs to park before stepping out of the car.

"DiNozzo! Glad to see you back on the trail today. You all rested?" Andy greeted cheerfully.

"What's it to you?" Tony spat out. "And you can wipe that smile off your face right now because until we find Probie, there's isn't Jack to be happy about."

"DiNozzo! Go speak to the copter crew. Find out what they've got." Gibbs attached Jethro's leash and stepped back to let him out of the car. He pulled hard when the dog surged forward with teeth baring, growling dangerously at the LEO in front of him. "Mutt doesn't like ya. Can't say I blame him."

"Feeling's mutual."

"Jethro, down!" He commanded and watched as Tim's faithful dog sat down gazing at him. "Good boy."

"Boss. The scan's show a large area of heat just at the end of the Swamp trail. They said it looks like some kind of building but when they used the night camera, nothin' showed up."

"We follow that trail. They map it?" Gibbs asked as he glanced over the readout that Tony had just handed him.

"Yeah. They've overlayed it so we can see where we're goin'."

"Alright, grab the radios and lets head out. There's not as many people here, but get them up to speed on where we're goin' and tell em that the same rules apply as yesterday."

"On it, Boss." Tony jogged off to the group that had congregated at the mouth of the bridge.

"Ziva, you got McGee's jacket?"

"Yes, Gibbs." She pulled the jacket out of the bag that she had bought and was grateful that Gibbs had let her run in to grab it before they set off.

"Let's go."

They set off at a brisk pace to look for Tim, hoping and praying that the night hadn't been too much and they wouldn't get there too late. Gibbs glanced at his watch, 0630….Hang on kid, we're comin' .


	22. Chapter 21

"Gibbs!" The team halted to see Jim jogging towards them.

"Jim. What the hell are you doin' here?" Gibbs barked out knowing that the man should be with his family at the hospital.

"Angela and Sarah told me I'd be more use here. Anna agreed, so here I am."

"How are they?" Ziva couldn't hold off anymore and after spending time with Sarah prior to this situation, now felt compelled to hear an update on how they were faring after the hell they'd been through.

"They're alright. Sarah and Angela should be released soon but Jake's gonna be in for a while yet. They're more worried about Tim." Jim shook his head sadly at the thought. "Can't say that I blame them. So, we got a plan?"

"Copter crew found a signature at the end of the trail. We're headin' there first to check it out." Tony handed Jim one of the maps with the overlaid scan image. "No idea what it is, but I don't think it's supposed to be there."

"Ya think, DiNozzo? Let's go!" Gibbs growled angrily at the interruption that had delayed the search for his Agent and once again, stormed off leaving everyone with no other choice but to follow. They had been following the main path towards the woodlands trail and had so far made good progress so they all knew how pissed off the boss was at being held back; the very fact that Andy was trailing behind constantly didn't help matters either.

Jim rushed after them gazing at the map and when he looked up, he noticed something that he hadn't seen earlier. "Is that Jethro?"

"Abby thought he might be able to help. It was a good idea, yes?"

"Actually, yeah." Jim replied. "You know, me and the kid were play fighting at the last family get together and he had to call the mutt off. Jethro's protective over Tim, can't say as I blame him."

"I see. Did you ever find out how they met?"

"Can't say I did. I know he's an ex-drug sniffing dog, but beyond that I have no idea."

Ziva nodded. "It was not an easy time for, McGee. We went to serve a warrant at a house and McGee took the back door. We heard a shot and when we rushed out, we saw Tim on the ground with bite marks to his neck and arm. Jethro had apparently been going for the kill, but McGee was able to stop himself being injured further by shooting the dog first."

"What! How the hell did he end up with him?" Jim asked with a mixture of anger and awe for what had happened to Tim.

"Abby was…..firmly persuasive, dear boy. Poor Timothy, didn't know what to do, but Abby was adamant that he was not a bad dog and needed a home. She is a force to be reckoned with when she sets her mind to something."

Ziva cringed slightly as Ducky supplied the answer and remembered how the whole situation had hurt Tim more deeply than he would ever admit.

"You've gotta be kidding me! How the hell did the mutt survive?"

"He was hyped up on cocaine at the time." Ziva paused slightly and cocked her head to look through the trees. She pulled out the map and studied it. "We are nearly there. Are you armed?"

"Service weapon….and cocaine?"

"Sorry…Oh, yes. It was not his fault. I do not think you could separate the two now. McGee loves that dog as much as the dog loves him. Please, do not think badly of Jethro, he was the victim of a bad owner."

"I get that, but damn! It's no wonder the kid's jumpy around dogs." Jim took Ziva's map and looked around. "There's nothing here but trees and marshland. How do we get across that?"

She pointed to the creek that acted as a boundary between the swamp trail and the woodlands trail.

"Ah, yes. Young Timothy does have an aversion to strange, large dogs but Jethro has captured his heart. Ziva, I am sure that there is a way across. This boardwalk path that we have been following over the swamp leaves no doubt in my mind that there is no building here." Ducky looked around before peering at the map again. "We are near enough to the place that is marked on the map. Where on earth can it be?"

"Agreed, we need to be over there. I do not think whatever we are looking at will be on this side."

"Ziva, McGee's jacket!" Gibbs demanded harshly. Ziva handed over the jacket and watched as Gibbs used it to give Jethro the scent. With a pat to the head, Gibbs knelt down.

"You gotta help us, boy. Find McGee." Jethro barked in response and started tracking the ground and followed the invisible trace of scent that he'd picked up. He stopped when he reached Tony and sat down looking across the water.

"Boss!" Gibbs swung round to look at Tony as he gazed into the trees on the other side of the creek. "Boss, there's something weird over here."

"What?"

"I don't know. It looks like some kind of… I don't know, it doesn't fit. Whatever it is, it's kinda hidden in the trees. Oh God, this reminds me of 'Kiss the Girls' with Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd….." Tony stood gazing at the small clearing just beyond the trees that revealed some kind of deadwood mound that rose up from the ground. It had been cleverly disguised so that it blended in, but it was so out of character with the vista, that they knew it wasn't supposed to be there. From this view, he could see that it was large enough to be seen and couldn't help but wonder exactly how big it was.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs narrowed his eyes and felt the leash pull as Jethro tried to get across the water. "How do we get across?"

"I don't know, Boss. It might be nothing, you know some kind of…"

"HOW DO WE GET ACROSS?" Gibbs snarled angrily.

"The water looks shallow, so the easiest way would be to…" Tony gawked with horror as Gibbs and Jethro ploughed into the water. "Bite the bullet and go through the water." He said to the now empty space beside him.

"Ahh, looks like we're on the move. If you would be so kind, Anthony?"

Tony helped Ducky down into the water and watched as he waded across. "It's cold, but not unbearable. The deepest it goes is up to your knees. Come." Ducky waved them on to encourage them into the creek.

Jim turned to make sure Andy was still with them. He'd been silent when he'd arrived and the fact that his partner had spent the rest of the time either texting on his phone, or plodding along behind worried him. "Why'd you come, Andy?"

"Huh?"

"Why'd you come? Inter departmental relations, my ass! You obviously don't wanna be here."

"I wanted to be here for you and Anna. The chief just saw it as an opportunity for our two agencies to build a working relationship." Andy shrugged nonchalantly as he moved forward and put his phone in his pocket.

"Who're you texting anyway, Andy? What the hell's going on?" Jim had heard Gibbs' concerns and despite sticking up for his partner, completely understood the man's anger. "Come on! What're you hiding, Andy?"

For a split second, a look of panic crossed Andy's face but it was soon replaced with a grin. "Suspicious mind, Jimmy boy?"

"Nope. Just wary, especially when it's my family on the line. You call me Jimmy boy one more time and I'll rip your head off."

"That's your problem. _Jim._" Andy moved to the water and followed suit with the rest of the team. With a scowl, Jim followed across with a heavy feeling of distrust and worry towards his partner.

Tony walked around the mound and tripped over a tree root that protruded from the ground. With a huff, he stood up, brushed himself off and carried on walking around the bracken and twigs that had been cleverly positioned to fit in with the landscape, and yet, still didn't fit somehow. What surprised him the most, was the fact that it seemed smaller than it was from afar and now that he was up close and personal, he could see that it was a good 8ft tall…._tall enough to conceal something? _And the diameter that he had walked was probably large enough to warrant it being a small, concealed cabin or chalet of some kind. He carried on walking round inspecting every nook and cranny he saw when he finally came across a break in the bracken that looked like the entrance to a tunnel of some kind. Tony pulled out his flashlight and shone it in to the hole, only to reveal a wooden door sitting there a couple of feet in.

"Boss, I think I found something." Tony whispered into his radio before reaching in and grabbing the door handle, as expected it was locked, but that wasn't a problem for them, no, the problem was that he had moved away from the group and they had no idea where he was….._Good one, DiNozzo!_ He pulled the radio back up to his mouth and was about to give the team his position when a twig snapped behind him. He turned towards the noise but didn't see anything there and so carried on with what he was doing.

"Boss….."

_"DiNozzo, where are you? I told you all to stay together!"_

"Bos…..Umph." He felt the crack to the back of his head before being hurtled, headfirst into the darkness as unconsciousness claimed him.

"DiNozzo….Tony, please! Tony….."

Tony woke up to a familiar voice trying to rouse him. It was hard though, and as he pulled his way through the thick fog that led him to the waking world, he carefully opened his eyes.

"Oh….OW!"

"Tony, you awake?"

"Tim?...Crap…Probie! Hey, you okay?" Tony winced when the light assaulted his eyes once again. "Come on McGee, keep talkin' to me!"

"I don't feel so good." Was the weak, whispered reply and once Tony fully got his bearings and his vision cleared enough to see, he looked around and cringed at the sight of Tim trussed up and still hanging from his hands.

"You don't look so good, Probie. How bad?"

"Huh?"

"How bad are you hurt?" Tony asked again, worried by the confusion that he saw. "I'm guessing concussion and you're shoulders and wrists must be hurtin' pretty bad. What else?"

"Um..Back..Ribs…Maybe legs, I don't know. I can't…I can't really….feel em." Tim stuttered. "Ton…?"

"Yeah, Buddy, I'm here, keep talkin to me."

"don't feel …so good." Tony could have cried at the confusion he heard in Tim's voice. The fact that he couldn't feel his legs was worrying, but to be honest, that could have something to do with the position that he was in…or at least he hoped it was.

"I know, Tim. I know. Hey! Stay with me here! You gotta stay awake!"

"Why? I wanna sleep….." Tim slurred as his eyes closed.

"PROBIE, GRAB YOUR GEAR!" Tony yelled hoping that the familiar, guaranteed method would snap Tim out of it slightly. It did and Tim gasped when his eyes flew open.

"On it, Bo…." He looked around groggily. "Where m'I?"

"Stay with me. Christ, whatever you do stay with me. Listen, we've got your family, McGee. They're at Bethesda and they're safe."

"Safe?..." Tim trailed off when his eyes threatened to close. It wasn't until the news sunk in that his eyes flew open. "Dad….Okay?"

"He will be. Sarah and your mom are doing alright too. You remember this guy?"

"Why would he, Agent DiNozzo." Jason moved in front of Tony with the bat firmly in his hand. "He doesn't know or care about what he's done; about how he managed to DESTROY EVERY CHANCE I HAD!"

Pure rage swelled through Jason and Tony watched with horror as he swung the very object that had already caused so much pain to Tim and his family. The resounding thump as it connected with Tim's ribs once again, made Tony gag and the scream that tore from his friends mouth broke his heart. He struggled against the bonds that kept him tied to the chair, the very chair that he soon realized was bolted to the floor.

"Stop it! You're killin' him." Tony couldn't help but scream when Tim coughed and blood bubbled at his lips. "You're killin' him! Please, stop!"

"Stop? Why should I. This is a small price to pay for what I have been through. You know, my family disowned me." Jason laughed harshly. "Oh yeah, my father couldn't live with the shame of having his only son rejected by Winthrop and the Police Academy. All because this IDIOT HAD ME ARRESTED FOR TAMPERING WITH EVIDENCE."

_**THWACK**_

Tony winced as Jason hit Tim in the knee with the bat causing the half conscious agent to groan in pain.

"You were a bully. You really don't have a clue about what you did, do ya?" He knew he had to draw the attention away from Tim and knew at that moment, that if it meant taking a beating, then that's what he had to do. "The fact that you took the phone and palmed it off was bad enough, but you wasted our time and caused problems with the case. McGee there reeled off a list of stuff in your interview; it was because of him that you didn't get charged for them. You're damn lucky, that tampering with evidence was the only thing you got away with."

"You don't know what you're talking about." Jason snarled and rounded on Tony. "You have no idea what I have been through."

"What you've been through? He's watched his family being beaten and threatened BEFORE you get him here and do that to him. The kids been through enough. He's paid his penance for whatever cockamamie crime you think he's committed." Tony sucked in a breath before continuing. "Oh yeah, the touch with the bull semen? That was harsh. Do you know how much that hurt him? He thought his sister had been raped by you."

"It was a nice touch wasn't it." Tony heard pride lacing his words. "What can I say, we….I know where to hit."

"We?" Tony asked but was rewarded by a crack round his shins for his trouble. He gritted his teeth and waited for the pain to subside. "So, you've got a partner."

"No! I fly solo!" The bat started making its way to his head, but just before it connected, he caught a glimpse of a snarl as Jethro moved in for the kill.

Beyond that, he saw no more, as darkness once again took over.


	23. Chapter 22

_"Boss, I think I found something."_

Gibbs fumbled with his radio when he heard Tony's hushed voice crackle over the radio. Jethro pulled hard on the leash at that moment, stalling him from answering right away.

"Jethro, heel." He silently thanked Tim for keeping up with the dogs training and not letting it slip, when Jethro sat down obediently at his stern command. Gibbs looked around and frowned when he noticed that Tony wasn't with them and had wandered off on his own.

_"Boss."_

"DiNozzo, where are you? I told you all to stay together!" He barked into the radio with more than a little impatience tainting his tone.

_"Bos…..Umph."_ Gibbs reached for his gun.

"DiNozzo! Answer me, where are you. Tony! Are you alright?" There was nothing coming over the radio but static and the fact that it sounded as if Tony had been attacked worried him. He turned sharply to face the rest of the group. "Any of you see where he went?"

"Gibbs, he was behind us. We did not see which direction he went in but he was there last time I looked." Ziva answered.

"Jethro, what on earth was that? He couldn't have gone far. That anomaly was just ov..."

"DUCKY! I KNOW!" Gibbs snapped but instantly regretted it as hurt flashed through the M.E.'s eyes. "Crap. Look, I think DiNozzo's been attacked and we need to find him. Ziva, Jim you two ta..."

"Er, Gibbs. These are Tony's right?" Jim held up a pair of sunglasses that were laying on the ground. He glanced at the brand on the side. "Gucci?"

"They are Tony's." Ziva supplied as she recognised the glasses that he often wore when they were out of the office. "Would Jethro be able to use them to track him?"

"Worth a try." Gibbs took the glasses and held them out for Jethro to sniff.

"By all rights, Jethro. He wouldn't have gone far. We were following the trail towards the structure but is it possible that young, Anthony found a shortcut?" Ducky asked and watched as Jethro stood up and pulled Gibbs into the trees.

"Come on!" Gibbs growled and let the dog lead him. They had been moving for no more than five minutes when Jethro stopped in front of the mound and sat down. "Atta boy, Jethro. Atta boy."

The rest of the team soon joined him and stood watching with amazement at the huge pile of bracken and twigs that made up the very thing that they had been aiming for. Gibbs pulled out his weapon and started to move around it slowly before coming across the same opening that Tony had obviously found. He gingerly reached in and was surprised to find an opening.

"Found a door. Hey, Zi...JETHRO HEEL!" The dog pulled hard on his lead and it was all Gibbs could do to keep his feet. The Leash slipped from his hands and Jethro flew into the door which opened easily. "Damn it! Ziva, Jim, weapons ready. Jethro's gone through the door."

"Door? What door...Oh." Ziva stood beside Gibbs and pulled her weapon when she saw what lay beyond the bracken. "How do you want to do this, Gibbs?"

"Ziva, with me. Jim, Duck, you stay out here. Jim, don't let him outta your sight."

"What about me?" Andy piped up with an affronted tone at being left out.

"You're with us." Gibbs replied with a distrustful glint in his eye. "You stay where I can see you at all times"

Gibbs waited for Andy to come up beside him and glanced at the weapon in his hand. There was no way he could let the guy go in unarmed, but the fact that he was un-nerved him and made him all the more aware of his presence. With a final check to see that everyone was where they were supposed to be, he moved forward and followed Jethro through the door and into the hidden building where he would hopefully, find his boys.

Tim came too and soon became aware of the pain that thrummed through his tortured body. His head seemed to throb in unison with every beat of his heart, his ribs, his back, his knees...hell, there wasn't one part of his body that didn't hurt. He looked around and for a split second, confusion reigned as he tried to remember where the hell he was and why he was hanging from the ceiling the way he was. It was strange, because surely his wrists and his shoulders should be hurting, surely there should be some pain. But there was nothing, but an almighty numbness that left him with no feeling from the shoulders all the way up to his fingers. He raised his head just in time to see something that left him feeling as though he was hallucinating. _Surely not? Here?_

"Jeth..." His breath hitched when he realised that the dog was lunging for the kill and cringed when he vaguely remembered being in that situation. The memory was forced out of his mind when he saw the bat swing round and connect with Jethro's head. "No! Jethro!" He watched with horror as his beloved dog fell to the floor with a thump and lay there whimpering.

"You son of a..."

"Oh this gets better and better. Is this your dog?" Jason asked menacingly. "Your dog?...HOW DID YOUR MUTT GET HERE?" He screamed and lunged at Tim once again.

"NCIS! DROP THE BAT AND STEP AWAY." Gibbs stormed the room with his gun trained on Jason. "Jason Geckler, you are under arr..."

"No, he is not." Andy's voice was loud and true and as Gibbs turned, he saw that he had one arm locked around Ziva's neck while the other held his gun to her temple. "Put your weapon down, Agent Gibbs."

"What the hell, Andy? You with this bastard?" Gibbs growled out.

"With him? Hell yeah! I helped orchestrate the whole thing. Me and him? We're tight, have been since high school. You know, we applied for the Police Academy at the same time? Only difference was, I got in. It wasn't difficult to get through that and set the wheels in motion."

"Let me guess. You've been pullin' strings since graduating." Gibbs threw the rhetorical question out there knowing damn well that somehow, this kid had managed to get close to Tim's family. "How'd you do it? How'd you get close to the McGee's?"

"Believe it or not, that was pure coincidence." Andy snorted out a laugh. "Sure, I _requested_ that I get posted in McGee's home town, but I didn't think I'd get it. Thought I be on the DC Met. You can imagine how happy I was to get posted there. Being partnered with Jim was just sheer, dumb luck."

"Andy, shut it." Jason spat out knowing that his friend was going over the top and was a hair's breath away from revealing everything. "Just shut the heck up!"

"Why?" Tim's small voice seemed to pull everyone's attention towards him and Gibbs found his heart breaking at the sight of him. "Why my family? Why not...Just me?"

"Eye for an eye. You took my family, I take yours. Andy there, well his Mom and Dad gave me a place to stay when my family kicked me to the curb."

Gibbs used this moment to fully take in the scene because no matter what, he had to be prepared. He was shocked by what he saw. The room itself seemed to be constructed out of concrete, but he knew that there was no way it could be and upon closer inspection saw that the walls had been skimmed and painted to look that way. The overhead lights were harsh, strip lights that gave the room a bright, hard look and highlighted every bruise on Tim's face and arms spectacularly. Not much attention had been paid to the floor and he noted that it was simply floorboards that had been painted grey. On the video's that had been transmitted, the room looked like a basement of some kind and Gibbs realized now, that it had indeed, been decorated to throw them of the scent.

"You don't have to do this, Jason."

"I don't? Huh, and there's me thinking that there's no turning back now." He replied with a smirk that turned Gibbs' and Ziva's stomachs.

"No. There is no turning back now." Ziva replied. "But you can make it much, much worse." With a small, tight smile, she pulled hard on the little finger on Andy's gun hand making him release his grip on his weapon.

"What the he...Oooph."

Ziva elbowed him hard in his solar plexus before turning sharply and kneeing him firmly in his family jewels. "You think you can deceive us? I did not trust you from the start." With that comment, she punched him so hard that he slumped down unconscious.

"YOU BITCH!" Jason roared as he watched his best friend sink to the ground. With a primal roar, he lunged forward only to be stopped when Jethro jumped up and bit down hard on his neck. "Arghh, Call him off! Call him..."

"JETHRO, HEEL!" Gibbs' voice was loud and masterful and Jethro obeyed, leaving the dog with no choice but to sit. Ziva moved quickly and yanked Jason's hands away from his neck only to pull them hard around the back so she could slap the handcuffs on him.

"No! They're too tight! Damn it, I need to go to hospital!" he shrieked as she manhandled him over to the far wall and tossed him down. She glanced up and saw that Gibbs had Andy restrained in cuffs as well and was dragging him over to the wall adjacent to where his partner in crime leaned against the plaster so that they couldn't help each other anymore should Andy come round.

"Tell it to someone who actually gives a crap!" Gibbs tore his attention away and looked towards Tim and Tony. "Ziva, help Tony, I'm gonna go get..."

"Jethro, what on earth?" Ducky's voice reached him from the doorway and as he turned, he noticed that Jim had obviously moved in first. "Oh dear." The M.E. made his way over to Tim and started to assess the man's injuries.

"Duck, we've gotta get him down from there." Gibbs moved forward and nodded towards the M.E. to get him to step back. He grabbed a small set of step ladders as he went. "Jim, I'm gonna cut through these ropes. I need you to hold him"

"Boss..."

"It's alright, Tim. We'll have you down and at Bethesda soon, Alright." Gibbs saw the defeat that poured of his Agent and knew what he was worried about. "Hey! Look at me! It's gonna hurt, Tim, but you can't stay there."

Tim dragged his heavy eyes to look at his Boss but somehow couldn't find the energy to agree with the man. He already hurt and his body thrummed with more pain than he had ever felt in his life.

"Boss..." He whispered. "Can't...I can't d..do this."

"Yeah you can. Look at me! You don't have permission to give up! you understand?"

"Yes, Boss. So..sorry, ." Tim murmured.

"No apologies, Tim. You just hold on." Gibbs glanced behind his Agent and saw that Jim was in place. "I'm gonna cut you down now, Tim." He stepped up onto the bottom step and stretched up to cut he bonds that held Tim in place. Unable to hold his own weight, Tim crumbled like a house of cards and the only thing that stopped him from hitting the floor hard, was Jim and Gibbs' quick reflexes and support. Gibbs swept the hair that had matted to Tim's head back and leaned in.

"Tim, it's over now, Son. I'm gonna let Ducky take a look at'cha." He stepped back and watched as Ducky moved forward again. With a heavy heart, he turned his attention to Tony and was pleased to see that Ziva had released the bonds. As he knelt down at the front of his Senior Agent, Jethro came whimpering over to him.

"Hey, boy." Gibbs started at Tony's voice and dragged his attention back to the pained green eyes that were obviously struggling to focus.

"DiNozzo. How're you doing?"

"M'kay, Boss. Head hurts like a..." he winced when he moved to glance Tim. "Probie?"

"We got him down. Ziva, go radio for the help. Tell em' there's no way to get an ambulance in here so we're gonna need a medevac unit."

"Shall I tell them to send two? Those two will also need medical assistance." Gibbs could see the disgust in her eyes at what she was suggesting, but also knew that she was right. Didn't stop him from exacting a bit of revenge though.

"Just one. Get Tim and Tony back to Bethesda and we'll take those two in. On foot!"

Ziva walked out of the door to order the medevac and to report in with the other searchers.

Andy stirred and finally came round to find himself handcuffed and laying near Jason. "What the...Take these off."

Jim approached him and kicked him hard in the ribs. "How could you do this to my family? You pretended to be our friends; we treated you like family!"

After the second kick had been delivered, Gibbs knew that he had to stop it before Jim actually killed the guy or ruined both his career and the case with a complaint against him about the treatment that Andy suffered while in custody.

"Jim! That's enough!"

"ENOUGH? THERE'S NEVER GOING TO BE ENOUGH FOR WHAT HE DID. HE DESERVES TO BURN FOR THIS!"

"Jim...p..p..please." Tim's stuttering voice travelled over to his cousin. "Anna...Isa...Izzy. Your job."

The LEO's resolve melted at that and he was soon by Tim's side offering his support.

"I know, Timmy. I know. Sorry, it's just...No! You don't worry about that right now. You got that, you concentrate on getting through this."

"Gibbs, the helicopter is on its way. There is no way for it to land so they said they are going to hover above. McGee and Tony will have to be strapped to stretchers and airlifted."

"ETA?" He shook his head when he heard the tell tale sign of a helicopter. "How the hell?"

"Director Vance. He said he thought we might need the extra help and called it in. It has been standing by along with the medics we already had waiting for when we had located McGee."

Gibbs stood up from where he had been checking Tony's eyes and clapped him on the shoulder. "Ready to get out of here, DiNozzo?"

"Probie first. I can come with you." Tony replied groggily.

"You're goin' with, McGee. We'll be with you soon."

Tony nodded and winced once again. Gibbs saw him smile ruefully when Jethro started to nuzzle at his hand.

"You did good, Jethro. You did good."

Turning to his more gravely injured agent, Gibbs once again swept the hair away from his eyes and spoke to him before moving him further.

"Tim. We're gonna have to carry you outta here. It's gonna hurt, probably like hell, but you're gonna be getting the help you need real soon, all right?"

"Wha...M'oK., Bo..ss." Tim managed to grit out through the pain that radiated through him. After being released from his bonds, the feeling was now returning to his shoulders and arms, bringing with it a whole new wave of pain in place of the numbness that had resided in before. He prayed for the blackness of unconsciousness to take him away from it all.

Gibbs moved to help Tim sit up, but was stopped by Ducky.

"Jethro, He has been hit in the back by a baseball bad on numerous occasions. I would advise against moving him and letting the Medevac crew strap him to a backboard. They are on their way."

"Boss...He said he couldn't feel his legs...they were numb." Tony added as he watched the exchange carefully from where he sat.

"Ahh, I see. We can't move him, Jethro. Not without a collar and a backboard in case of spinal injuries."

"Crap! Jim, go outside and wait for the Medevac Crew. Bring, them in here will ya?"

"Sure." He made his way outside to wait for the crew leaving Gibbs and Ducky tending to Tim.

"Du..Ducky?"

"I am here, Dear boy."

"Can...I ge...get so... water?" Tim licked at his dry lips and Ducky reached into his backpack to pull out a bottle of water and a carton of juice he had bought with him. He handed the water to Gibbs and pulled the straw off the carton. Once the bottle was open, he held the straw in the top and lowered it so that Tim could drink.

"Just a little bit." He watched Tim sip at the water for a moment and pulled the bottle away. "That better?" Tim nodded his head and gasped at the tendrils of agony that seemed to set every nerve in his body on fire. His body decided it couldn't take anymore and Tim's eyes rolled back into his head.

"Ducky?" Gibbs' alarmed voice drew everyone's attention and Ducky glanced up from where he was once again checking on Tim.

"He has passed out, Jethro. He is stable for the moment and It will be much easier on him this way."

"Okay." He settled back on his heels glanced towards the door. "Where the hell are the medics?"

As soon as he let out his frustrated question, Jim came running through the door with two Medevac Medics in tow. Gibbs saw that they were carrying a spinal board and standard kits and watched as they spent the next ten minutes getting Tim ready for transport. Once his agent was strapped onto the board and hooked up to the necessary equipment, one of the medics turned his attention to Tony.

"I'm alright, just take McGee."

"Sir, I was told that they found you unconscious." The medic shone the penlight in Tony's eyes. "And your right pupil is sluggish. The only other way is by trekking back through the Island and I'm not comfortable with you doing that right now, not with a head injury. We have room for you on the chopper, but you'll have to sit."

Tony nodded his head and winced. "Sure."

"I'm going to get...What's your partners name?"

"Tim. Tim McGee."

"Okay. We're going to get Tim settled on the chopper, then we'll come back down for you. Can you make it outside?" Tony nodded once at the medics question and felt the medic pat his knee before helping carry his friend out. It wasn't long before Gibbs and Ducky were standing at either side of him to help him stand.

"Come on, DiNozzo. Let's get you outside. Ready?" Tony stood and leaned into Gibbs. "Easy. Alright?"

"Yeah, Boss."

"Jethro, I shall take, Anthony outside. You need to stay here with them." Ducky send a contemptuous glare over to Jason and Andy. "Do try not to damage them too much while I'm away."

Gibbs didn't miss the slight glint that passed through Ducky's eyes and he couldn't help but smirk at the comment. "We'll try not to, Duck."

"Hmm, well good. I shall be right back." Ducky supported Tony outside leaving Gibbs, Ziva and Jim standing watch over the two scumbags that had done immeasurable damage to both Tim and his family.

"Better get these guys ready for transport."

"Gibbs, McGee and Tony will be alright, yes?" Ziva asked with a small, tight voice as she trained her Gun on Jason.

"I don't know, Ziva. I just don't know." He pointed at Jason and Andy as they sat there. "You two had better hope so."

With that, Gibbs walked back outside and watched Tony being airlifted onto the helicopter. He walked over to Ducky and waited for the last medic to attach the winch to his suit before being hoisted up to help his colleague get the two patients settled. As soon as they were gone he turned to Ducky.

"What's the prognosis Duck?"

"I couldn't say, Jethro. I simply don't know."


	24. Chapter 23

When Gibbs had gotten back inside the hidden…whatever it was, he saw that Jim and Ziva already had Andy and Jason up on their feet with their arms handcuffed behind their backs. With a scowl, he nodded at Ziva and turned to walk back outside.

"Jethro, surely you are not going to make them walk back to the bridge without being tended to?" Ducky asked as he came in through the door. "Let me tend to their wounds first."

"We don't have time! Ziva, get them outta he….."

"No! Absolutely not! Whilst you may not care for their well being, I on the other hand would like to see them punished for what they did. If you do not let me treat them, then we may have a problem with them filing charges against us for abusing our authority." Ducky stood his ground and glared back at Gibbs with just as much fire and intensity. Gibbs' eyes narrowed dangerously before the fight went out of him and he nodded.

"Fine. You've got five minutes."

"Thank you." Ducky replied tersely as he grabbed his pack and moved over to the two men. He started off with Jason and pulled the dressing away from his neck. The wound was no longer bleeding so he pulled an alcohol wipe out of his first aid kit and started to clean the wound. The hisses of pain as the wipe swept over the bite marks with a bit more vehemence than he would have shown anyone else, provided the M.E. with more than enough satisfaction.

"Damn it! Do you have to rub so freaking hard?" Jason spat out but was silenced by the muzzle of Ziva's gun being pressed firmly into his temple.

"You do not know what pain is, Geckler. I assure you, I can cause much more than that."

"Yeah? Do it!" he challenged nastily.

"Do not tempt me. I have no witnesses here." Ziva turned to Jim and Ducky. "Yes?"

"I didn't see a thing." Jim replied through clenched teeth. "Nothing!"

"Ah, yes. Whilst I don't condone violence in any way. I believe I was out in the forest with Jethro at the time." Ducky taped a new dressing to Jason's neck. "It's a beautiful place and I wouldn't want to miss seeing any of it."

Ziva pulled her gun away from his temple but moved her aim down so it aimed down to his heart.

"S'alright, Jason. I saw the whole damn thing!" Andy spat from where he was kneeling. "Police brutality, always one to use."

"Ahh, yes. But who will they believe. A…excuse the term…bent police officer, or the Doctor that has him listed as unconscious up until transport?" Ducky knelt down before Andy and reached out to shine his pen light in Andy's eyes.

"That's Bull and you know it! It won't stand up."

"Won't it, Andy? You Son of a…This bastard has put five people in hospital and you helped him. Your entire career has been a deceitful ploy. You think you have a leg to stand on because I seriously don't." Jim jumped in before moving over to Andy and grabbing a handful of his hair to sharply pull his head back. "And if I find out that you have done anything…ANYTHING…to my family beyond this, I will personally break your neck. You got that?"

"Whatever."

"I SAID, YOU GOT THAT?"

Andy watched as Jim's face got redder and redder with rage and knew that this wasn't something he was going to get out of. "I got it."

The LEO pushed Andy's head forward sharply before letting go of his hair. "Glad we understand each other."

"You done?" Gibbs announced as he walked back in.

"One moment, Jethro."

"No! You're done!"

With that, he roughly grabbed Andy under the arm and dragged him up off the floor leaving Ziva to deal with Jason.

"We're leavin' now!"

It had taken little over two hours to finally get back to the bridge and everyone was relieved to see a new wave of Agent's standing at the mouth to take Jason and Andy off their hands. It wasn't anything against them, it was just the fact that Vance knew and understood the clawing need that the group felt to get to their people rather than babysitting the two S.O.B's that put them where they were.

"Balboa." Gibbs greeted. "Vance sent you?"

"Yeah, he said there's two basta…um, prisoners to escort to Bethesda before we take them in. These them?" Balboa eyed them dangerously. He liked Gibbs' team, always had and the fact that these two had orchestrated and followed through with something that caused so much pain and damage irked him beyond all reason.

"That's need Ziva?."

"Nah. I've got my team with me. Didn't want to leave anything to chance if you know what I mean."

"Makes sense." Gibbs looked at Ziva and Jim and flicked his head at them. At the signal, they both dragged Jason and Andy over. "This is Agent Balboa. He's gonna be taking you in and reading you your rights. You give him any trouble, he has my permission to shoot you."

The two handcuffed men glared at him before being dragged off by the other team. Gibbs turned to the three downtrodden people standing with him and shook his head sadly. "Now that this shitstorm has blown over, let's go see how everyone's doing."

"Jethro, May I borrow your cell phone. I'm afraid my battery has died on me and I would like to ring the hospital." Ducky requested and offered a small smile of thanks when Gibbs handed his cell over. He held back behind the three people walking over the bridge to make the call.

"Jim. You drove here?"

"Yeah, my car's in the parking lot." Jim answered.

"Ziva, go with Jim. I'll take Ducky with me and we'll meet at Bethesda."

"Yes, Gibbs."

"And Jim." Gibbs waited for Jim to turn his sad eyes onto him. "Thanks for your help today. I appreciate it."

Ziva raised her eyebrows at her Boss' response knowing that it was very rare that he thanked anyone for their efforts; come to think of it, she couldn't remember him every thanking anyone. Maybe it was to do with the stress of very nearly losing one, no two, of his agents. She just didn't know but at that moment she felt compelled to do something she never thought she'd ever do. Ziva moved forward to Gibbs and placed her hand on his arm before offering him a small smile of relief.

"You okay, Ziva?" Gibbs asked gently.

"I am fine. You are also alright, yes?"

"I'm good. Go on, Ducky and I'll meet you there." He watched as she nodded once and walked off with Jim. Gibbs rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand.

"Jethro. I have just spoken to Brad."

"Brad? Why's he o…."

"Ah, well apparently they were short staffed in the ER and needed cover so he offered. He was good enough to update me on Timothy and Anthony's conditions." Ducky replied knowing exactly what his friend was going to ask.

"And?"

"Anthony is quite a lucky lad. He's got away with a mild concussion but they are keeping him overnight for observation." Ducky drew his eyes away from Gibbs and looked at the ground sadly making Gibbs frown.

"Duck, what aren't you telling me?" He asked gently.

"Jethro, Timothy is in a bad way. He has a severe concussion, broken Ribs and his left shoulder is dislocated. His wrists are surprisingly well considering the way in which he was hanging, they have nothing more than rope burn and are mildly sprained."

"That all?" Gibbs felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach because he knew that Ducky was holding back.

"No." Ducky sucked in a cleansing breath before continuing. "Timothy had been hit several times in his lower back and knees. His right knee is merely bruised, but his left is shattered. They need to operate as soon as he is stable."

"His back?"

"The good news is that there is no spinal damage which is a saving grace, but it is severely bruised and the area around the spine is swollen causing the paralysis that Anthony mentioned. They put a catheter in as soon as he arrived. Jethro, there was blood in his urine which indicates Kidney damage, but to what extent I am unsure. I am sorry but with Timothy's injuries, it will be touch and go for a while." Ducky finished the rundown of Tim's injuries and watched as a whole myriad of emotions flitted across Gibbs' face. Anger, rage, sadness, grief; none of them good.

"We need to be there Duck." Gibbs finally answered.

"Then, please, let's go now."

The two men hurried down the bridge towards the car with a thick feeling of worry for the teammate and friend that they might still, possibly lose.

They arrived at Bethesda after a silent journey in Gibbs car. Their first stop had been to drop Jethro off at NCIS where they picked Abby up and left the dog with Jimmy, who promised to take good care of him. After instructing Ducky's assistant to take Jethro to the vets to get him checked out, Gibbs, Ducky and Abby were soon on their way.

Gibbs was the first to walk into the waiting room of the ER and took in the morose atmosphere from all the people sitting there. He had been surprised to see Angela and Sarah sitting on the hard plastic seats rather than resting in their rooms, but to be fair, if he had been in their shoes then there was no way he'd be mulling everything over alone. No, he'd be exactly where they were now.

"Angela, how're you and Sarah doing?" Gibbs glanced over at Sarah's sleeping form. "You want me to get someone to take her back to her room?"

"No. Leave her be. She finally gave into her exhaustion just after Ti…" She choked back a sob. "Tim arrived. Please, let her sleep because she needs the rest."

Gibbs nodded and knelt in front of the distraught woman. "What about you? How're you doing?" he asked softly. Angela turned her tear filled eyes to him and shook her head.

"Not so well. Jake came through surgery but they've got him sedated so he doesn't know about Tim. My boy….Oh God, my little boy!" That was it; the flood gates that held back the tempest of emotions, opened and she started to sob uncontrollably. Gibbs pulled her into a hug and felt her melt into in before holding on for dear life as she got it out.

"He's gonna be alright, Angela. McGee's a strong kid." Angela pulled back and looked into Gibbs eyes as if searching for something. "He is." he repeated with more gusto.

"I see nothing but honesty in your eyes. You truly believe that, don't you?" she asked quietly.

"I do." With a nod, he stood up and looked around the room at the other occupants. Ducky currently sat in between Ziva and Abby and had one arm stretched over each of their shoulders. Jim had automatically moved towards his wife and was sitting there holding his daughter while Anna used his shoulder as a pillow and Sarah, she slept fitfully as Angela stroked gently through her hair. All in all, everyone sitting there was holding on by a thread.

"Duck?" Gibbs waited for Ducky to look at him. "I'm gonna go and sit with Tony for a bit. You'll come and …"

"I shall let you know what the doctor says, Jethro."

With a nod, Gibbs left the room in search of coffee and his senior field agent.

Tony groaned as Brad shone the damnable penlight in his eyes once again. "Come on, Buckeye. What're you tryin' to do? Blind me?"

"Just making sure you haven't actually managed to scramble your brain, Tony. I put too much hard work in trying to get you back on your feet after the plague incident." Brad chuckled. "You know, I should be given a bonus for having to put up with you a second time round."

"How'd you think I feel?" Gibbs asked as he stood in the doorway. He frowned when he saw the nasal canula running under Tony's nose. He raised his eyebrow at Brad to ask the silent question that he hoped the Doctor would understand.

"Gibbs! Should have known you'd be here soon. It's nothing to worry about. Apparently Tony here has a slight case of sleep apnoea when he's unconscious. It's just a precaution more than anything but his O2 levels are looking good and have been stead for a while. I'm going to keep it on to be on the safe side."

"Come on! Is that really….."

"Listen to him, DiNozzo!" Gibbs growled. "You letting him out tomorrow?"

"Heck yeah!" Brad grinned broadly. "I've already got Nurse Emma asking to come down and help her favorite patient."

"Nurse Emma? She was nice. Didn't see me at my best though." Tony answered ruefully before falling silent for a minute. With a serious look on his face, he turned to his boss. "Boss. How's Probie doing?"

Brad picked up Tony's chart and started to scribble something down on it. Once he was done, he put it back at the foot of the bed and looked at Tony.

"I'll leave you two alone. Tony, leave that on and someone'll be in soon to move you up to a room." Brad left the two of them alone to talk about their team mate and friend; it wasn't going to pretty given Tim's injuries, but at least they had each other to lean on if need be.

"He's in the best of hands, Tony." Gibbs answered quietly before sitting in the chair next to Tony's bed. "They're doin' what they can."

"I get that, Boss. But how's he really doing? He…Boss he couldn't feel his legs and wasn't lookin' to hot. He gonna be okay?

Gibbs gave Tony the list of Tim's injuries and watched as his agent's face closed down completely.

"Tony." He waited for Tony to look at him. "He's gonna be alright."

"How can you be so sure?" Tony asked with a deep rooted sadness that seemed to curl in the pit of his stomach. Gibbs felt his pain as though he'd been physically punched in the gut. He

"Because, DiNozzo, he doesn't have my permission to die."


	25. Chapter 24

"Ok, Agent DiNozzo. We're going to move you up to a room now." One of the E.R. nurses breezed into the room and started to ready Tony for moving. "We just have to wait for the orderly and then we'll be on our way." She hooked the I.V. up to the stand attached to the bed and stepped away.

"Thanks." Tony watched as she gathered his stuff up and put it underneath the bed. "Boss, any news on, Probie?"

"I've been here with you DiNozzo. Wouldn't know." Gibbs said sadly before turning to the nurse. "What room's he gonna be in?"

"Room 306. Take the elevator up to the third floor and speak to the nurse at the desk. She'll tell you where to go."

"Thanks. DiNozzo, I'm gonna go find out about, McGee. I'll be up soon." Gibbs saw Tony eye him for a moment and was surprised when he shook his head.

"Boss, he needs you more than I do right now. Stay with him. If they won't let you, then go home and get some sleep. That's what I'll be tryin' to do tonight so it won't be much fun."

"Concussion, DiNozzo. You'll be woken up every hour."

Tony snorted but winched when the action jarred his aching head. "Thanks for the reminder. You'll let me know how he is, right?"

"Of course." The orderly chose that moment to walk in the door and moved to take the breaks off of the bed. "Be good!"

"I'm always good, Boss. You sure you don't need me down here?"

"With that thing under your nose? Go! You're better off where they can keep an eye on ya."

"Hey, I resent that!"

"Agent DiNozzo, you're good to go." With a nod, the nurse and the orderly started to wheel the bed out.

"Don't forget to let me know how, McGee's doin'" were Tony's last words as he was wheeled towards the elevator. Gibbs shook his head and went in search of the coffee that he desperately needed and found himself wandering out of the grounds to the coffee shop that he knew was nearby.

Brad sighed heavily at the sight of the young man in front of him. On one hand, he'd been lucky, on the other….No, that didn't bear thinking about. He stood there looking over the chart and hadn't realized that someone had stepped into the room with him.

"Ahh, Bradley. How are you, young man?"

"Ducky! It's good to see you. I'll be better if you didn't keep sending your boys my way." Brad glanced down at Tim's bruised and battered, unconscious form sadly.

"How is he?" Ducky asked with concern. Brad had already given him the shortened version of Tim's injuries, but the paternal lion had gone to battle with the doctor within him and he felt the need to know everything that he possibly could about what was wrong with Tim.

"He was out when they bought him and we've got him scheduled for a CAT scan as soon as possible. The good news? Only two of his ribs are broken; how, I don't know but the majority of the bruising is just that, bruising. I'm amazed that there isn't more damage to his wrist's to be honest. We've treated the rope burns and bandaged them, but we'll be keeping an eye on them. His shoulder? Ducky, We don't want to touch that until we can get him down to surgery, the only problem is…"

"The longer you leave it out, the more risk there is of the displaced humerus damaging the Axillary nerve. Permanent damage to that would cause him problems for the rest of his life." Ducky concluded.

"Yes, but I don't want to put him through anything un-necessary if we can help it. If the scan comes back clear, then we'll have him down in surgery to pin his Patella first thing. We can manually manipulate it back in then without causing him any pain and if there is any other damage there, then we can go in and sort it out surgically. Heaven knows how long he was left with it popped out like that for. He must have been in some serious pain." Brads face darkened at the thought and he shook his head to chase it away. "Why is nothing simple with Gibbs' team?"

"Unfortunately, trouble really does seem to find them. They're good at what they do though and as much as we'd like to protect them, things happen." Ducky took off his glasses and started to clean them with his handkerchief. "Bradley, what about his back?"

"What can I say? The spine and the spinal cord haven't been damaged, but there is significant swelling in the muscles surrounding his lower lumbar region. That swelling is putting pressure on his spine. Once that goes down, the paralysis should lift. We'll put him in a back brace for a couple of weeks to support him but we'll have to keep him still because of his ribs. You know, back in the day, they used to tape broken ribs. Now we leave them in case the constriction causes problems with breathing. We'll have to keep our eye on that with the brace."

"Yes, quite." Ducky replied. "And the kidneys"

"Gross hematuria. His output has been good but the urine is pink. The only thing we can do is keep him on bedrest, which given his injuries is not going to be a problem, and monitor it closely for signs of infection or any other damage that we've missed. Worst case scenario? We go back in and either repair or remove the damaged kidney." Brad held his hand up when ducky started to protest. "Worst case scenario. Right now, he's as stable as he's going to be and if holds his own and the concussion stays stable, then we'll take him down and repair the damage..."

They were interrupted by a groan from the bed and swung round to see Tim trying to bat the oxygen mask away with his good arm.

"Timothy. No, leave that there, lad." Ducky leaned over so he was in Tim's line of site and smiled at him. "Don't try to move your head. You've got a neckbrace on."

"Ducky, may I?" Brad asked and gave a smile of thanks when the M.E. moved to the side to let Brad do his checks.

"Tim, I'm just going to shine this light in your eyes. I know it hurts, but it'll only be for a moment." He shone the penlight in Tim's eyes and was pleased to find both pupils equal and responsive; albeit a little sluggish. "Good. Now, do you know who you are?"

"Spec...l Ag..nt...Tim Mc…Gee." Tim slurred out.

"Good. You know where you are?"

"No...Um...hospital?"

"You're in Bethesda and you're safe now. You've got a grade 3 concussion, so I need you to try and stay awake for me for a while longer, okay?"

"Kay."

"Attaboy. Tim, you've got quite a few injuries that we need to tend to but before we gi..."

"My family!" Tim's eyes widened as he started to struggle to free himself from the bed. "Please...Mom..Dad...Sarah!"

"Woah! Ducky, help me." Brad cried as he tried to hold Tim down.

"Timothy, stop that this instant, young man! Your family are quite safe and we have both Jason and Andy in custody! Now, you have a back injury so you need to lay still. I will tell them to restrain you if necessary!" Ducky explained forcefully and blew out a sigh of relief when Tim stopped fighting them.

"Damned if I know where he gets his strength from." Brad commented. "Tim, hey! Your back is fine, but you can't move about just yet. Your shoulder won't thank you for it either, alright?"

"My family?"

"Your Mom and Sister are in the waiting room and your Dad is up in his room recovering from surgery. Everyone is fine so I need you to concentrate on getting yourself through this right now."

"You better listen to him, McGee." Gibbs voice travelled over from the door.

"B..Boss?" Tim's shaky voice made Gibbs frown as he moved into the room and leaned in to look at Tim.

"I'm here. You don't have permission to do anything but listen to the doc's, you go that?"

"Go...Got it..." Tim's eyebrows knitted together as he tried to think. "Don't feel so good."

"I know, McGee. Just hang in there." Gibbs soothed as he watched his agent's eyes close once again. "Doc?"

"He's asleep. Normally we don't give meds out to people with concussions, but given his other injuries, we decided to give him something anyway. As long as he's monitored, then he'll be fine. We're going to take him up to the ICU just to be on the safe side and tomorrow we'll put him together again." Brad sighed heavily. "He's gonna be on some serious meds for the next week or so. Right now, we're just concentrating on getting him pain free and keeping him that way."

"He'll appreciate that. Can I sit with him tonight?" Gibbs asked, already knowing the answer to that question.

"Not in ICU. The staff need room to work."

"I don't want him to be alone. He's been through hell as it is."

"Gibbs, I promise you, he'll be too out of it to realize what time of day it is, let alone know that no one's here. Go home and get some sleep so you'll be ready to sit with him when he can have visitors. You look like hell warmed over. In fact, do me a favour and take everyone with you. Abby and Ziva look about ready to drop and Angela and Sarah shouldn't be up all night."

Gibbs nodded before he realized what Brad had said. "You know, Ziva?"

"Only from tonight. Vance ordered a quick exam on his team. Funny how you evaded that one, but how about we get that over with now?"

"Why?"

"Because, you've all been running on empty for too long, apparently and running around Roosevelt Island has got him worried. You gonna argue with me?" Brad smirked and tried to guide Gibbs out of the room.

"Jethro, for the love of...Go with him, Man. We've all been checked and it's only a cursory medical." Ducky chimed in with an exasperated tone. When Gibbs started to argue, the M.E. simply held up his hand to stop him. "I do not want you to fight us on this, Jethro. Five minutes of your time and then you can go home. We shall take everyone with us so that they can eat and rest, if it helps, then I will offer my home once again to you all. It's big enough."

Gibbs glared at his old friend before nodding once tersely and letting Brad steer him out of the room. Ducky sank down in the chair and looked over Tim's bruised and battered body. With a wave of sadness, he reached out and rested his hand on Tim's arm.

"Oh, Timothy. What have they done to you, Dear boy?"

Gibbs finished up with Brad and walked back towards the motley crew that were currently taking over the waiting room. He pressed the swab against the puncture wound from the needle that the Doctor had used to draw blood and tossed it in a trash can before rolling his sleeve back down. With a heavy sigh, he put his jacket back on and walked into the room.

"Gibbs! Gibbs!..." Abby ran over to him and threw her arms around his neck. "How are they? When can I see them?"

Gibbs wrapped his arms around her and held on. It was as much for him as it was for her; not that he'd ever admit that he needed the comfort. "Abbs, Tony's fine. He's been moved up to a room. Ducky's with McGee now and he's stable. You can't see them yet."

Abby sobbed into his shoulder and it was all he could do to hold on to his own tenuous emotions.

"Abbs, where are Jim and Anna?" he whispered when he saw how much the group had diminished.

"Izzy was getting restless, so they went back to your house. You gave them the key, remember?" She answered quietly.

"I remember. That's fine." Gibbs looked up at Tim's mother and frowned when he saw her stir from the place she had been sleeping.

"Agen….Jethro." Angela called blearily from where she had been dozing. "Dr. Mallard went to sit with, Tim a while ago. Have you seen him?"

"I've seen both Tim and Ducky, Angela. Tim's stable for now but he's pretty out of it. He will be all night. Brad…Dr. Pitt is scheduling a CAT scan for tomorrow morning so we'll know more then." He felt Abby pull away and used the opportunity to move towards Tim's Mom and crouch down. "Told ya, he's a tough kid. He'll get through this."

"I know. He's strong. What else did that monster do to him. Please, I need to know."

Gibbs spent the next ten minutes explaining Tim's injuries to the group. In that time, Sarah had woken up and was currently nuzzling into Angela's shoulder as if to seek as much love and comfort as she could. By the end of it, Angela, Sarah and Abby had dissolved into floods of tears over the state of their loved one while Ziva sat there with a steely face that had been set hard as stone. Gibbs noticed this and patted the older McGee's knee before moving over.

"Ziva?"

Ziva looked at him and he could tell at that moment, that she was trying her damndest to keep her façade in place.

"Ziva, let it go. Don't let it eat away at ya." That was it, Ziva's face slackened as the tears rolled slowly down her cheeks.

"I am not sure how…..I want them to feel pain, Gibbs. I want to know how may broken bones and injuries McGee has so that I can break just as many of theirs." Gibbs pulled her into his arms and felt her stiffen under his touch. She wasn't used to this and hadn't felt the comfort that a warm embrace could offer when it was well needed.

"Not the way. McGee would want it by the book." Gibbs answered despite feeling exactly the same way. If there was any way that he could take his sniper rifle and put a lapua round through those bastards' heads, then he would. "You know what a stickler he is."

"I know and yet you still have him hacking into every agency's systems, yes?" Gibbs chuckled at her question and saw a small smile grace her pretty face.

"You got me there."

Ducky walked in at that moment and with a rueful smile, he tried to rally the troops into going home with him.

"Right. Bradley is taking Timothy up to ICU as we speak and I have been up to speak to Anthony, so he knows what is going on and is settled for the night. Now, I have been told to take you all home for some rest and I have to say, I agree. I have enough rooms for you all to stay the night because no doubt you will not want to be alone. Please, we can be back in the morning."

"Dr. Mallard…."

"Angela..May I Call you, Angela?"

"Of course."

"Angela, it's Ducky to my friends and I insist. We can stop off for takeaway on the way home because no doubt you have not eaten today."

"Ducky, I appreciate what you are trying to do but….." Ducky frowned at the 'but' and shook his head to forestall her.

"I insist. Now, there is a Chinese restaurant just around the corner. I have already called and ordered a mixture of dishes thanks to Bradley's recommendations. All we need to do is pick them up and we can get home. So, shall we?"

There was a flurry of movement as the group started to get there stuff together to move out. Angela paused in the door as she walked through. "Jacob. Oh no! I need to speak to Jacob."

"Mrs. McGee." Brad walked over from the nurse's station sporting a warm smile. "Gibbs asked me to find out how he was doing and I can tell you that he's sleeping comfortably. He's had a similar surgery to what Tim's going to have in the morning so is on pretty strong pain killers. I'll tell you what; I'm off duty in about ten minutes. How about I go and talk to your husband and fill him in on what's happened."

"No. It's not that I don't appreciate what you are doing because I really, really do, but it should come from me." Angela refused sadly.

"Look, you're exhausted and still recovering yourself. Go with Ducky, get some rest and come back in the morning. By then you should be able to sit with Tim for a while until he goes down to the O.R., trust me, the chances of your husband waking up tonight are slim to none because he's on the good stuff that pretty much knocks you out. I'll sit with him for half hour and if he wakes, I'll talk to him. If not, you can speak to him in the morning."

"Angela, my dear. Listen to the good Doctor. He is right and you will not be in any fit state to help the two men in your life if you are exhausted yourself. I promise you that I will bring you back first thing." Ducky promised as he wrapped his hand around the top of her arm.

"Promise?"

Ducky chuckled warmly and looked her directly in the eye. "There is no greater fraud than a promise not kept." He saw Angela's lips quirk as he rolled his R's in true Scottish style.

"Is that a fact?" She whispered.

"Aye, it is and I can guarantee you that a Scotsman always keeps to his word." That drew a small smile out of the broken woman in front of her. "Ahh, see. Now that's better. I hope you don't mind my...eccentricities. I tend to talk a lot and do enjoy telling a good story."

Angela was so intent on what Ducky was saying that she didn't notice the fact that he was gently guiding her towards the exit. Gibbs shook his head as the M.E.'s words managed once again, to break through barriers that he knew he could never break down himself.

"What is that?" Ziva asked. _"__There is no greater fraud than a promise not kept"_

"Gaelic proverb." Gibbs answered. "Heard him say it before."

"I haven't." Abby joined them and nestled herself against Gibbs' side. "I don't ever get to hear him say stuff like that."

Gibbs kissed the top of her head before answering her. "I've known him a long time, Abbs. Come on you two, let's go."

The three of them followed in Ducky's wake and moved to Gibbs' car where, Ducky was waiting with Angela and Sarah.

"Duck, We're not all gonna fit in my car." Gibbs said but was cut off by Ziva.

"Jim handed me these." She held up his car keys. "Jim hired a car last night so that Anna had something to use. They have driven back in their car and left the rental here. I am sure he will not mind."

"Perfect. Duck, you and Ziva go and get the food. Take Sarah and Abbs with you. Me and Angela are gonna go and get Anna, Jim and the baby so they're not on their own." Gibbs explained.

"Of course, Jethro. We shall see you shortly." Ducky pushed the button on the key and saw the rear lights of the rental car blink a couple of times before going out. "Ah, I take it that is our car. Ladies?"

Gibbs watched as his friend ushered the three women towards the car and turned to Angela.

"Angela, there's nothing you can do here tonight." He said when he saw the forlorn look on her face as she gazed at the hospital. "Come on." He opened the door for her.

Angela climbed in and felt the salty tears prickle in her eyes at the thought leaving her loved ones here alone. It was something that desperately didn't want to do, but in all fairness, knew that they were right. With a final glance at the doors, she finally let go of her emotions, hoping and praying that her boys would be alright without her there to sooth them.


	26. Chapter 25

Gibbs was carefully navigating the roads to his house so that he could pick up Jim, Anna and the baby. The decision had been made, that they would all be together tonight and the fact that they had left early meant that they were alone and without the support that they should have. Gibbs briefly glanced sideways at Angela and felt his heart tighten at the lost look on her face as she gazed through the windshield.

"How're you doing, Angela?" He asked softly. It took her a moment to realize that she had been spoken to, but as his soft words filtered through to her, some of the resolve that she had softened.

"Honestly? Not so good, Jethro."

"They're gonna be alright, you know."

"Are they?" The question wasn't filled with doubt, it was simply a case of her asking for clarification that the two men, that meant the world to her, were going to be okay and would get through this both physically and emotionally.

"Yeah, they are."

Angela simply nodded turned her head to look out of the side window. "Can I ask you a question?"

"You don't need my permission."

"Why…." She sighed heavily before carrying on. "Why did he have to do this? Surely his life wasn't so bad that he had to try and destroy my family."

"I can't answer that. He's..They're both disturbed. What they did was wrong and they'll be punished heavily for it. I'll make sure of that."

"An eye for an eye? No. That's not what I want." Angela answered, completely misinterpreting what he had been saying. "No more pain, Agent Gibbs. I can't deal with anymore pain."

Gibbs felt his heart drop at her words and knew that he had to explain quickly. The fact that she hadn't turned away from the window worried him and he wanted nothing more, than to draw her out of the place that she had withdrawn into.

"The legal way, Angela. They'll be goin' to prison for a long time for this."

"Tim didn't do anything wrong, you know? He wouldn't hurt anyone. When he was growing up, he would always go out of his way to help people but nearly always got hurt in the process. When he was at school, he was bullied for being a bright boy. He was always the top of his class; he always had a flair for computers and he always excelled at what he did."

"Still does." Gibbs added quietly.

"I can believe that. He wants nothing more than to please people. It's the one thing that makes him the special, warm young man that I am proud to call my son."

Gibbs understood that completely. He knew how hard his Junior Agent worked and the fact that he had soon filled the gap that had been there in his team and had done it brilliantly, was always something that would stand Tim in good stead with the people that knew him. To Gibbs, the meaning held something different and the boy had worked his way into his heart, leaving him with no doubt that Tim was the son that he never had.

"When Tim joined my team, he was so damn nervous that he stuttered all the time." Gibbs found himself wanting to talk to the woman, not just to soothe her, but because he wanted to. "But over the years, he grew into someone that I can trust with my life."

Angela finally drew her eyes back to Gibbs and watched him intently as he talked.

"Huh. I have never known someone to work machines the way he does. He's gotten me out of a few jams He's good at the other stuff as well. Put him in the field and he'll do the job perfectly."

"That's, my Timmy." Gibbs laughed at the sentiment, causing Angela's eyebrows to knit into a frown.

"What?"

"You called him, Timmy. Abby calls him that but he doesn't like it much."

"He never has." Angela supplied with a warm smile. "He always cringes when I call him that, but I use it to my advantage."

"How?" Gibbs asked with a heavy curiosity lacing his tone.

"He always feels guilty for cringing at me, so I get a hug." She answered simply and in that one small insight into Tim's family, Gibbs could feel the love and warmth that flowed through the McGee's family unit.

"Sounds like, McGee." Gibbs pulled up to his house and turned the engine off. "He's safe now. You all are! The best thing to do is move forward and try to make it right again."

Angela nodded and Gibbs saw a lone tear roll down her face. "Thank you, Jethro."

"You're welcome. C'mon, let's go round up the kids."

They got out of the car and made their way to the house feeling lighter and a lot more at ease then when they had left the hospital. As they walked through the door, the one thing that struck them was the sound of someone moving around in the kitchen. It wasn't long, before Jim walked out carrying two mugs of coffee for him and Anna.

"Jesu…." He was obviously startled by the sudden appearance of the two people standing at the door. "Um, Hi."

"Hey, Jim. How're you doing?" Angela asked as she stepped forward and kissed him on the cheek. Jim put the drinks down on the sideboard next to him and pulled her into a hug.

"How am I doing? Worried, relieved…You?"

"The same. Jim, we're all staying at Ducky's tonight and would like you, Anna and little Izzy to come be with your family and friends." Angela smiled up at him expectantly. "Please?"

"I'll have to talk to An….."

"No you won't, I think it's a wonderful idea." Anna replied from the living room doorway. "Can you give me a minute to get everything together?"

"Go on. We'll wait. You two eaten yet?" Gibbs asked.

"Not yet. We were just thinking about ordering in."

"Don't bother, Jim. Duck's got Chinese for everyone."

"Duck?" Jim looked at Gibbs with a grin and a question sparkling in his eyes.

"Ducky. I've called him Duck for a long time, but I warn ya, I'm the only that calls him that."

Jim shrugged and nodded his head. "Hey, he told me to call him, Ducky. Who am I to argue? Angela, here." He offered Angela his drink.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, Anna wanted hot chocolate so I made two mugs, but if we're eating then I'd rather not drink that beforehand." Angela took the drink and sipped out of the mug. She sighed with contentment as the rich, sweet drink helped soothe her nerves. "Good?"

"Perfect."

"Jim, come and get Izzy. She's awake and I need to get the bag together." Jim started to move towards the living room door, but was stopped by Gibbs.

"I'll get her. You stay here with, Angela." Gibbs voice was soft and warm, but the underlying order for him to support his family was there. He nodded his agreement and watched as the older man made his way into the room to get his daughter.

"How're you really doing, Ange?"

"I'm scared, Jim. I don't know whether Tim's going to make it through the night and Jake's just come out of surgery. My boys are hurting and I don't know what to do. Sarah and I are okay, but I think Sarah's struggling with it all and I don't know how to help because I know that she won't relax until her dad and brother are out of the woods."

Jim stepped forward and put his arm around her shoulders as she stood there struggling to hold back the torrent of tears that threatened.

"I know. I feel useless and don't know what to do." He admitted ruefully.

"You're doing it because you are here. That's all I can ask."

Jim squeezed a bit tighter and pulled her closer to him as she stood there sipping on the hot chocolate. It wasn't long before the drink was gone and they were all making their way out of the house so that they could all be together.

* * *

"Ducky, you bought enough to feed a small army!" Abby exclaimed as she walked out of the Chinese restaurant. Ducky smiled and looked between the girls as they walked towards the car, each laden down with bags of food. "You sure we need this much?"

"Abigail, It has been a taxing day and I would like everyone to be able to sit back and relax as much as they can. I wasn't sure as to what everyone likes, so I chose an assortment of dishes including starters and deserts."

"Yes, but Ducky, this really is a lot of food." Ziva added with a bemused smile. "I do not think this will all be eaten."

"As long as everyone eats, then that is all that matters." He glanced at Sarah and frowned slightly at the faraway look in her eyes. "And that includes you, Sarah."

"What?" Sarah replied distractedly. "Sorry, I was miles away."

"Quite understandable. I said I would like you to eat something tonight. You will do your father and brother no good if you end up back at Bethesda because you didn't take care of yourself." Ducky's gentle chastisement wasn't intended to hurt and his intent was palpable to the three women; he was playing the caregiver tonight and he would make sure that every single one of them would eat, talk and rest as they needed.

"Oh, er..I don't know whether I'll be able to."

"You will. For Tim and Jacob, you will." Ducky said knowingly as they reached the rental car. Ducky's phone chose that moment to ring and he shook his head with despair. "Och, always at the wrong moment, I'm afraid. Well, let's get these into the boo…trunk of the car and I shall call whoever it is back."

Ziva stepped forward and opened the trunk of the car so that they could load it with the food. Ducky thanked her when she took his bags and pulled his cellphone out of his pocket. When he checked the display, he saw that it was Jimmy calling and pressed a button on his speed dial.

"_Hello."_

"Ah, Mr. Palmer. I do apologize, I had my arms full."

"_Oh, Dr. Mallard. Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you. Is this a good time?" _Ducky shook his head at Jimmy's thoughtfulness and grinned; they really were a good bunch.

"It's always a good time, Jimmy lad. Now, what can I do for you?"

"_I've just got back from the vets with Jethro. They wanted to keep him there for a few hours for observation, but it seems he's dodged another bullet this time." _Jimmy explained.

"And how is our canine friend? He was a true hero today."

"_He's concussed but there was no sign of a skull fracture. They said he seemed lucid enough to come home, so I'm taking him back to my place where he can sleep off the pain meds they gave him. I have some more for him here."_

"Mr. Palmer. Do you still keep an overnight bag in your car?" Ducky asked his young assistant. The man had done them a huge favor in taking care of Jethro tonight and after doing a quick exam once they had dropped the dog off to him at NCIS, he had offered to drive him to the vets and told them he would take care of it all.

"_Yes__, why?"_

"We are all going back to my house for a meal and then everyone is going to stay over. Unfortunately, I do not have any spare rooms but since mother passed, I invested in a sofabed…Don't really know why." He added as an afterthought as he tried to remember the reasoning behind the purchase. Right now, it didn't matter because at least it would be used. "Anyway, you are more than welcome to stay."

"_I'll just be in the way, but thanks."_

"Nonsense. I insist. Jimmy, come and spend time with us. I think young Sarah and Angela would like to see Jethro as well.

"_You sure?"_

Ducky started when his phone was taken out of his hands, but when he turned to take it back, Abby was standing there with it to her ear.

"Jimmy! Come on…please? Come spend time with us." Ducky shook his head at her pleading but knew that she didn't like people to feel left out. "It's not fair for you to be all alone when we're all together."

"_Abby….."_

"I won't take no for an answer and if you do say no then remember I can kill you and leave absolutely no forensic evidence!" Abby said without taking a breath or a pause.

"_Okay. Tell __Dr. Mallard __that I'll be there in half an hour."_

Abby hung up and handed the phone back to Ducky. "He'll be at your house in half hour, Ducky."

"Yes, well. Thank you, Abigail. I don't like to think of the young man being left out in any way."

"He will not be let out. How is Jethro?" Ziva asked with concern. She had seen what Tim's dog had done and felt proud of the dog.

"He's going to be alright. He might seem a bit out of sorts, but given the way in which he was injured, he's a lucky boy. I'm sure I still have some of the Corgi's treats in the cupboard. Perhaps they will be put to good use tonight."

"Dr. Mallard." Sarah asked quietly. "Can we go now, please. I want….I want my Mom."

"Oh, Sarah. Of course my dear. I apologize." The M.E. walked over to Sarah and patted her arm gently. "Please forgive an old man, my dear. You should be resting. Well, ladies. Shall we?"

Ducky opened the door for Sarah before handing the keys over to Ziva. "Perhaps you can drive, Ziva. Just please, try to keep it legal tonight."

"Of course, Ducky."

* * *

An hour later, everyone was settled comfortably at Ducky's house and had made a good dent in the food that had been bought. It was surprising, but even Angela and Sarah had eaten a full plate at Ducky's insistence and were now sitting curled up together on the couch with Jethro at their feet. Ducky stood up and wandered over to the two women.

"Angela, I have set up the guest room upstairs for both you and Sarah. I hope you don't mind, but you will have to share a double bed for tonight."

"We don't mind. To be honest, I don't want to be alone and I want Sarah near." Angela answered honestly as she carded her fingers through her sleeping daughters hair. "I nearly lost everything and it's a good reassurance that at least one of them is okay."

"I understand. Please, follow me and I'll show you to your room. There is an ensuite bathroom so you don't have to go far should you need to use it. There are fresh towels in there for the morning as well."

Angela reached over and woke Sarah up gently before standing up and weaving her hands through Sarah's "Come on, sweetie. Time for bed.." They followed Ducky upstairs to the large comfortable bedroom and Angela turned to offer Ducky a small smile.

"Thank you. I appreciate what you are doing; what you are all doing."

"It's our pleasure. Young Timothy has rather a large extended family and we will always do what we can should he need help. That includes his family as well." Ducky replied softly. "Now, go. Get some rest."

"Goodnight."

"Oidhche mhath" Ducky's use of Gaelic drew another smile out of the woman.

"Scottish Gaelic?, Hmm, let me see if I remember what Jacob taught me...Um..Oíche mhaith." Angela shot back warmly.

"Ahh, I see there is still some Irish that runs through the McGee clan." Ducky chuckled. "The two are very close in the way they are said, but there are distinct differences. I myself, only speak limited Gàidhlig, but to be honest, there is very little need nowadays."

"I understand. The Celt blood comes from Jacob's side and it was his father that taught me a few words of his native tongue. It's very pretty...all Gaelic is really." Angela yawned loudly and blushed in the same way, Tim did. At that moment, Ducky could see where he got it from.

"It is. Angela, go and get some rest. Good night, God bless, my dear."

"Good night, Ducky."

Ducky walked down stairs and paused in the doorway to watch over his family. It saddened him slightly because Timothy and Anthony weren't there, but in all honesty, they were safe now and it was that knowledge that set a sliver of contentment running through him.

* * *

"No...Plea...My family...MOM!...DAD!...Leave her alone...Please, not Sarah!" Tim thrashed about on the bed as his nightmare took hold. The clock had just passed midnight and Brad leapt up from the chair that he had settled in fifteen minutes ago so that he could watch over Tim for a while.

"Tim, It's Brad. You're safe now, okay? You're at Bethesda and you're safe."

Tim didn't hear Brad's gentle coaxing and support and carried on thrashing about the bed, jarring his injuries without feeling pain at the torrid dream threw him into a flashback.

"LET ME GO!...Please...Let them go!...Don't hurt them..." Tim's right arm flew up and caught Brad on the side of his face. Brad grasped the arm but noticed that I.V. that had been supplying the young mans tortured body with the much needed fluids and pain medication had become dislodged in the struggle. With a sigh, he reached over and punched at the nurse's button before grasping Tim's arms and holding them down at the side of his body.

"Doctor?"

"Emma, can you help me? I don't want to sedate him again so soon because of his head injury, but it's getting to the point where he's gonna do more harm than good. I didn't expect him to be having so much trouble sleeping, Damn it, and here I told his mother he'd sleep through the night!" Emma rushed over and helped Brad gently restrain Tim. The fact that Tim's body, unconsciously registered that he couldn't move, made him struggle more. "Damn it! Emma, stay with him!"

Brad rushed out of the room to get the necessary equipment; he was damned if he was going to let Tim do himself more damage and if it meant that he'd have to stay with him all night, then that's what he'd do. As he entered the room where the drugs were kept, he found what he was looking for and grabbed a syringe before running back to the room. When he got there, he saw Emma laying across Tim to hold him down.

"Okay, Emma, I'm going to sedate him now. Hold him." Brad made quick work of reattaching the I.V. and injected the contents of the syringe in slowly over a minute. Not long after, Tim's struggles lessened as he fell into a medicated sleep.

"Doctor, do you want me to get Dr. Perez?"

"No need. I'll stay with him tonight." Brad answered softly. "If she comes round though, send her my way because I'd like to discuss, Tim's case with her."

"You should go home and rest." Emma answered kindly. "You're off duty, let us take care of him."

"Emma, do you remember them all when Tony was sick?"

"Of course." She replied and frowned at the memory. She liked Tony, but the memory of him struggling for every breath still haunted her.

"You know how tight they are and they trust me. I'm off tomorrow, I can go home and sleep then." Emma nodded and left the room leaving Brad to settle down in the chair. It was going to be a long night, he knew that. But if it kept Tim safe and calm, then it was something that he would do, if not for Tim, then for his family...and for Gibbs.


	27. Chapter 26

Gibbs sat in Ducky's kitchen drinking his third mug of coffee since waking up. He had to admit to being out like a light once his head hit the feather down pillow that adorned the large, comfortable bed. That was largely down to him being bone weary. He had woken up a couple of hours later though, tossing and turning while is mind whirred with thoughts of Tim and his family. After another hour, he had made the decision to get up; sure, it was early – 0415 to be exact – but there was precious little chance of him drifting back off now. So…here, he was with a new pot of coffee percolating, sitting at the kitchen table gazing out of the window. He took another sip of his coffee and started to think of all the unanswered questions that had started to nag at him.

_How did Andy get permission to help with this case? Interdepartmental relations my ass. There was no way any small town police force was going to get involved with the kidnapping of a federal agent and his family. They hand over their case notes and step back, so how did he become involved to the degree that they let him come to D.C.?_

_How did he get the materials over to the Island and what's underneath the bracken? You can't build on there, so how'd he manage that?_

_Why did Jason blame, Tim? After everything that happened, he didn't take responsibility for his own actions at the time. Why? Tim didn't make the call to charge him, he just interviewed the guy._

These led to the burning question. The one that Gibbs seriously wanted to know the answer too…

_How did Tim know that his family was in trouble? His dreams…they weren't just dreams! They weren't borne out of anything that happened. He just knew! They were premonitions._

Gibbs shook his head knowing that no matter what, he would never get the answer to that question. He would never know what it was that sparked the ability to see what was going on and act on it. With a sigh, he slumped in the chair and drained the rest of his drink.

"Jethro?" Gibbs jumped at Ducky's soft, confused voice and looked at the doorway to see his friend standing there in his pajamas.

"Didn't mean to wake you, Duck."

"You didn't. I haven't really slept to be honest. I'm too worried." Ducky walked over to the table and sat down in the chair. "Poor, Timothy. I can't help but think about the long recovery that boy has in front of him. He will need every little bit of help and support we can give."

"I know, Duck. It's not just that. You know how family orientated he is and just know that he's gonna want to ignore his own recovery to help his family through." Gibbs stood up and walked over to the coffee pot to pour him a new drink. Before he moved back to the table, he filled the kettle and set it on the stove to boil.

"Ah, Jethro. You are a saint among kings, my friend, but would you mind if I join you in a coffee?"

Gibbs cocked his head and smiled at his friend. In all the years that he had known the man, he had never once known him to drink coffee. "Since when do you like coffee?"

"I indulge rarely, but I haven't slept and the caffeine will be welcome." He watched as Gibbs poured him a mug and stood there holding it as if wondering what to do with it. "Jethro, I drink it like my tea. A little bit of milk and no sugar."

Gibbs went to the fridge and picked out a small jug of milk before walking back to the table and handing it over to Ducky with the coffee. He watched as Ducky added the milk and took a sip, with a cringe. "Gah, that's ghastly! Jethro, you must have a stomach of steel to drink this vile concoction."

"It's my poison, Duck."

"Yes, that and Bourbon. One day…Just one day…I will introduce you to the merits of a perfect cup of Earl Grey Tea."

"Perfumed tea? Not gonna happen." Gibbs said with a smirk and sat down with his own coffee in hand. "You want me to take the kettle off the boil?"

"Don't you dare! This tastes like…I don't know but it's terrible. I'll have that tea, thank you very much. Perfumed tea? Honestly, Jethro, I have this tea imported from the UK and it's delicious. Earl Grey is infused with Bergamot, making it a lot more refreshing than the rocket fuel that you must insist on subjecting your body too each and every day."

"Take your word for it." Gibbs found the gentle banter between the two of them more refreshing and up uplifting than any drink in the world. It was something that he prized most in the world and loved the man sitting in front of him dearly, for giving him that. Ducky sighed when the kettle started to whistle and stood up to start making his tea.

"Why do you do that?"

"Hmmm?" Ducky asked distractedly as he poured hot water into the pot and swirled it round before emptying out and adding the tealeaves.

"Warm the pot. Why?"

"Ah, well, my dear old grandmother, God rest her soul, once told me that warming the pot helps the tea brew better. In fact, it is merely a case of warming the porcelain so that it doesn't lower the temperature of the water."

"My mother use to do that as well." Gibbs and Ducky jumped at the soft feminine voice that carried over to them from the door.

"Angela! My dear, please do sit down. Would you like some Tea?" Ducky asked cheerfully. "I would offer you coffee, but Jethro's preferred brew is a wee bit too strong for an old bird like myself. I'm making some Earl Grey, though I think I have some Assam in the cupboard. Maybe even some Lady Grey."

Angela smiled warmly at the M.E. and shook her head slightly. "Earl Grey will be fine. Do you have some lemon?"

"Of course. Alas, I take it the English way. How are you this morning?"

"Okay I guess. Sarah slept most of the night but she's unsettled. I think she's having nightmares." Angela answered sadly, as Ducky placed the pot under the teacosy and put two cups on the table. "I don't know what to do for her. She's so lost."

"It's gonna take a while, but she'll get there." Gibbs soothed. "You've all been through a shock. I've been thinking. We have a fantastic shr…psychologist at NCIS. Director Vance'll let you all speak to him if you want too. I know Tim's gonna if he wants to come back to work, but the offers there for you all."

"Thank you. I appreciate that. Right now, I just want to help my family get back on track. I've even been thinking about taking Tim back with us when we go home….." Angela's eyes welled with tears. "Home? It's not going to be home anymore is it? Every time I walk around that house, all I'm going to see is that horrible, horrible night. He stole that away from me…I bought my children up in that house, it was a happy, peaceful home and that bastard took that away from us."

Gibbs stood up and walked over to Angela, with a saddened look on his face, he knelt down and pulled the grief stricken woman into his arms and held her close while she sobbed. "He'll never take that away from you. One night doesn't erase the happy memories, just clouds them. They'll come a time when you can walk around that house and see nothing but happiness again."

"How can you be so sure?" Angela sobbed. "How?"

"I've been there and done it." Angela pulled away and looked Gibbs in the eyes.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to….."

"You didn't." Gibbs interrupted. "It was a long time ago. Don't lose sight of what matters. Yeah, this happened, but you're all strong enough to get through it, alright?"

"Thank you." Angela watched as Ducky poured her a cup of tea and added a slice of Lemon. "Thanks, it's been a long time since I've had this."

"Enjoy." Ducky responded with a grin. "Now, may I ask you a question?"

"Of course, Ducky. Anything."

Ducky sat down with his own drink and frowned. _How do I approach this? _He thought before deciding to jump in feet first. "Young, Timothy was having a run of nightmares where he saw you, Jacob and Sarah getting hurt. He was so torn, poor lad. It took him a while to try and work through them and if it wasn't for Jethro taking him to your family home….."

"Dreams?" Angela inhaled loudly. "Dear God."

"What?" Gibbs asked with a frown.

"It's his grandmother…well her gift anyway. My mother always had a canny knack of knowing when we were in trouble or danger. She would dream about it and nine times out of ten, they would come true. I remember a time when my mom and dad were taking my brother and me to the coast on vacation but Mom had a nightmare the week before about us being sideswiped by a truck on the freeway. She tried to tell my dad, but he said we'd be fine and….." Angela paused and looked up to the ceiling to try to clear the tears.

"And?" Ducky said softly.

"And we got into an accident. An 18-wheeler jackknifed and the trailer caught our car, as it swung round. We were lucky, but the car was destroyed. Dad took more notice of things then, especially when it came to Pete and me. She saved us on more than one occasion."

"Really?" Gibbs asked feeling more than a little skeptic. "How?"

"I used to be a cheerleader and was always the top of the pyramid. Mom dreamt about the stability failing and me breaking both my arms in the fall. Needless to say, the day after, we practiced a pyramid and we lost stability. Thanks to her warning, I knew what would happen so jumped off onto the mats. I sprained my ankle, but my arms were fine." Angela stopped to think. "Another time, Pete decided to go ice fishing with dad. She told them that the ice was unstable so they didn't go. The day after, there was a news report about some poor guy and his son fishing in the same spot, and going through the ice. They both died out there."

"And you think McGee has this ability?"

"Maybe. Mom's developed at an early age and I know there were times when Tim was adamant that we didn't do things growing up. I don't know, Jethro. He's always been a sensitive boy so we put it down to that. It's hard to distinguish, because his grandmother's gift was always so blatant but Tim's? Not so much. I've always suspected but could never prove it."

"What would you call that?" Ducky asked with wonder. "Precognition? Premonitions?"

"My mother always used to say she had '_future sight'. _I guess it's precognition, but it was never accepted fully by the scientific community like the other types of ESP. I looked into it when I got older hoping that it would come to me, but Mom said it skipped generations like the left hand dominance. Come to think of it, that's the common denominator in this; all the gifted have been left handed."

"Like Timothy?" Ducky added with a small smile. "How has he ignored this all these years?"

"He might not have. It goes back generations but it's rare for a man to have it. To be honest, we've been lucky and haven't really been in any big danger. In fact, the last male precog's abilities didn't develop until his was 40. By that time, he'd been in numerous fights, lost family members and so on. It took this to spark it off in Tim and he's going to need help to understand it all." Angela sipped at her tea and frowned. "Does he see you all as family?"

Gibbs and Ducky stopped what they were doing and gazed at him with amazement. What that had to do with the situation, they didn't know, but it was something that they wanted to find out.

"I dunno? Maybe he does now." Gibbs answered and looked at Ducky. "What do you think?"

"I think he does. We are a tight little family in a way and Timothy was welcomed into it with open arms, years ago. Why do you ask, my dear?"

"Because…..You're job is dangerous and it's possible that now this has developed, then he may start dreaming about you getting hurt as well. Please, if he does, then listen to him. That's all I ask."

The kitchen fell silent as they all started to process this little tidbit of information.

"Okay. So how do we deal with this?" Gibbs asked quietly. "I mean, does it always work that way?"

"What way? Sorry, I'm not following you." Angela frowned at the younger of the two men.

"If there's danger; he'll see it."

"No. Not always. There were times when my mother didn't foresee things, but it did pop up 80% of the time. Don't hate him for it, that's all I ask. I couldn't bear for him to go through what my Mom did." Angela asked with a quiver to her voice. It was obvious that her mother's gift had caused pain somewhere down the line.

"Huh?" Gibbs started at Angela and tried to figure out why he would vindicate her son for this. The boy had saved their lives! He wouldn't do that…._would he?_

"Angela. I will admit, young Timothy's gift is certainly…how should we say, a bolt out of the blue. I for one see it as something to embrace, though I do understand it may be frowned upon." Ducky said warmly. "I can assure you that he won't be thought badly of by anyone of us."

Angela sat there and lost her tenuous hold on her emotions. For the second time that night, she cried, only this time it was in relief. "Thank you."

"Good morning." Jimmy traipsed into the kitchen and smiled at the three people sitting at the table. "Um...do you mind if I made myself some coffee, ?"

"Good Morning, Mr. Palmer. Please, help yourself. It's a 'Gibbs special' I'm afraid." Ducky answered sadly. "I believe it will keep you caffeinated for a good while."

"That's fine. It's ju...ju..just what I need." Jimmy said around a yawn.

"Tired, Mr. Palmer. Didn't you sleep well?" Ducky said with a frown.

"I slept just fine. I had a visitor that crept in through the night that woke me up. The sofa bed was pretty comfortable."

"Oh no, don't tell me Jeth…"

"Gi...Oh, Jethro, Tim's dog. No, Abby sneaked in. she um..." Jimmy blushed furiously. "She kind of wraps herself around you when she's asleep and I couldn't move."

"Abigail? why on earth did she sneak in. I thought she was alright with sharing with Ziva."

"She might have mentioned something about Ziva..." Jimmy tapered off, unsure of whether he should say something or not.

"Spit it out, Palmer." Gibbs growled and watched as Ducky's assistant shrank slightly in front of him.

"She might have mentioned that Ziva snores like a drunken sailor before falling asleep."

"I most certainly do not, Palmer." Ziva said as she walked in looking sleep mussed. "You lie, yes?"

"You wish." Abby grumbled as she joined the group in the kitchen. It was 0700 and the group had all set their alarms at the same time. "Seriously, Ziva. You need to get that sorted out. I had to jump in with Jimmy!"

"Oh, Abby. You poor thing. Would you like to talk about it?"

"Hey, it's not my fault." Jimmy grumbled back at her. Angela watched the scene unfold and couldn't help but smile. Overall, Tim was part of this family and no matter what; she knew that he would always be kept safe with them watching over him. As the banter continued through breakfast, she fully understood why, Tim spoke of them all affectionately and even had a greater understanding of the family unit that they truly were.

"Brad." Gibbs shook the doctor's shoulder to wake him up. He had to admit; that Brad looked uncomfortable curled up in the chair next to Tim's bed, but felt a wave of gratitude for the man knowing that he had gone above and beyond his duty of care. "Hey, come on. I've got coffee."

"Gibbs?" Brad mumbled as he slowly pulled through the mire of sleep. "Damn, let a guy sleep will ya? What time is it?"

"0830. You been here all night?" Gibbs handed Brad the second coffee and watched as he took a grateful slug out of it.

"Yeah. Wasn't going too, but Tim woke up and I had to sedate him."

"WHAT?" Gibbs hissed under his breath. "He woke up?"

"Woah, calm down. Yes, he woke up but it was unexpected. He was thrashing about so hard I had to sedate him so he didn't hurt himself. He needed to be watched. I stayed. It's as simple as that." Brad countered with just as much warning in his voice. "Outside. Now!"

Gibbs followed Brad outside and stopped next to the Doctor as he tried to work the kinks out of his neck. "Damn chairs are uncomfortable."

"He woke up! What the hell, Brad. You told us he wouldn't wake up. He was alone damn it! Alone!"

"I was there and he didn't really know where he was. He was disorientated and…"

"He woke up?" Angela's panicked voice carried over to them from where she was standing a few feet away. "My Timmy woke up…alone?"

"Angela, listen. I promise you now….."

"NO! Gibbs, I left my boy. I left him alone and he woke up without his mother there. I knew I should have stayed. Why didn't I stay?" Angela's train wreck of thoughts spilled out. "Why? Why didn't I listen to myself?"

"Mrs. McGee. There would have been nothing that you could have done. I assure you. I was there with him all night and didn't leave his side for anything."Brad cut in gently. "Please, he's been stable for a while now and will be going down for another CAT scan in about an hour."

"Dr. Pitt. You don't understand. I _needed_ to be there for him. He….Oh Jethro." She put her hand over her mouth and sobbed hard. "He should've had his family there."

Gibbs wrapped his arms around her again. It was difficult because he could see both sides, but was still majorly pissed at not being there for one of his boys. Brad sighed heavily and sunk down in the chair outside the room before putting his head in his hands.

"Brad?"

"I'm alright. Just….Jesus. Angela I'm sorry. I didn't think he'd wake up but he did. You needed your rest and I made the call to stay with him so you could all do that."

"Brad!" Gibbs tried again. "Don't worry about it. We just wanted to be there when he woke up so he wouldn't be alone. It's not your fault."

"Oh no! Sorry. I didn't mean it was your fault. After everything that happened, I didn't want him to be alone. He probably needed to know that we're okay and we weren't there. He was lying there, thinking that we were…"

"You don't know that, Angela." Gibbs soothed. "I'm sure he didn't even know where he was."

"He didn't."

"But he panicked?" Angela asked sadly.

"A little." Brad admitted. "But I would have done the same thing. Look. Go sit with him now. Talk to him. I did what I could last night, but he was out for the majority of it. I'm going to go home and get some rest, but will be back later."

"See you later."Gibbs replied and watched as Brad walked away with slumped shoulders. He felt a pang of guilt towards the doctor; he had done so much for them over the years and vowed to apologize next time he saw him. Angela pulled away and made her way into the room. She stopped in the doorway and glanced over her shoulder.

"My boy woke up and I wasn't there. He panicked. I should have been there."

"I know. But you weren't." Gibbs said softly. "Nothing you could have done anyway."

"I could have helped." With that, she walked into the room, leaving Gibbs with no option but to follow. As he walked in, he got a good look at Tim and felt a pang of heavy sadness stab him in the heart.

_Yeah, we both could have, but we didn't. My boy is laying there injured, and I wasn't there to help him either._

Gibbs laid his hand on Tim's forehead and bent down low so that he could whisper in his ear.

"You don't have my permission to die, Tim. You got that? You DO NOT have my permission!"


	28. Chapter 27

Gibbs sat next to Tim's bed with Angela and watched the young man carefully for any other signs of movement. So far, there had been none and his agent thankfully slept on peacefully and pain free. With a sigh, the Team Leader rubbed his hand over his tired eyes and stifled a yawn.

"You should get some more rest." Angela said quietly. "No reason why you have to sit here as well, Jethro. I doubt he'll know we're here at all."

"I know." Gibbs nodded and sighed heavily. "You know, these kids mean more to me than just being my team. They're like my kids. I don't tell em' that. Just like I don't tell em' how much they mean to me. Always figured they knew without being told." Gibbs had no idea why he was telling Tim's mother this, but was thankful that he had such a warm and loving family that though the world of him. It was probably the reason why Tim turned out as well as he did.

"He knows. He…" Angela shook her head "The last time we spoke to him, we talked about how much he loved and respected his team. He sees you all as his extended family; you're the papa bear, Tony's the big brother, Ducky's the grandfatherly figure head that he missed having there and Abby and Ziva, They're his older sisters and Sarah's the baby of the family."

Gibbs didn't realize that he was gaping with amazement at her statement until she reached over and cupped his chin with her hand and pushed so that his mouth closed. "Sometimes I think my boy's traits manage to instill themselves in everyone that he works with. He gapes just like that."

"Hmm. I noticed. I didn't know he felt that way."

"To be honest, he's torn. He would do anything or anyone of you, but often feels as though he's not a part of everything." Angela smiled sadly and dipped her head.

"What do you mean?"

Angela sighed. "He wishes he had the relationship that you have with everyone else. Tim is a sensitive boy, Jethro. When he see's you with Abby, Tony and Ziva on a daily basis, he wishes he could be as close. Maybe it's because we're all so far away."

"Damn it, McGee." Gibbs said and stood up to brush his agent's hair away from his forehead. "You'll always be my boy, no matter what. You know, Angela. There's reason I don't treat Tim the same way as the others. He has a good family support system where the others don't. I don't want to take the place of that."

"You won't." She answered honestly and laid her hand on his arm. "He needs someone here to ground him and help him feel safe and protected when we can't. I'm sorry if I've made you feel uncomfortable."

"You haven't. Tony's father left it up to the hired help to raise him, Ziva's? That's a whole other kettle of fish and is complicated. She hasn't got anyone. Abby has us and the nuns. I didn't realize that Tim wanted the same support, but if it's what he wants, then I'll give it to him. I wasn't prepared to take the place of his father."

"I know you will do what you can for him and he understands more than you think he does. He knows about everyone else's backgrounds and wants to protect them just like you do. That's just the way he is." Angela laughed lightly. "He's what can only be described as a technical genius…a geek to some people and while he does put on that façade, there's another facet to his abilities."

"What do you mean? His precog abilities?" Gibbs asked with curiosity and sat down.

"Yes. It's rare, but he's one of the few precogs to have telempathy piggy back on top of the main ability. We call it his secondary gift. It's weak, but it's there. Have you never noticed how he just knows how you are feeling and adapts his behavior?"

"I've noticed how he always manages to comfort people at the right time. Just thought he was more observant than most people."

"He's that too. It only manifests with the people that he loves and it's very weak, but it's enough for him. He finds it difficult knowing how much pain people are in, but can switch off if he needs too. He's a good man, Jethro."

"Yes he is." Gibbs agreed and heard a groan from beside him. His head snapped up and he saw Tim's long eyelashes fluttering slightly. He stood up and leaned over Tim and watched as the young man's eyes opened. "McGee. Hey, you're alright."

"Boss?" Tim's voice was so quite that the whispered words literally ghosted past his lips.

"Yeah, Tim. I'm here with your Mom."

"Mom…You 'kay?"

"I'm fine, Tim. Don't worry about me, Baby. I want you to just rest right now. Can you do that?"

"Listen to your Mom, Tim." Gibbs said and offered Tim a small smile. "How're you feeling?"

"Hurts." Tim whispered.

"I know. We'll have you fixed up in no time. For now, I need you to fight, you go that?"

"T…try. Boss?" Tim swallowed, trying to get some of the moisture back in his dry mouth. "S'gonna be…gonna be fine."

"I know, Son.." Gibbs moved out of the way and let Angela take his place at the head of Tim's bed. Her heart nearly broke at the frown that knitted Tim's eyebrows together.

"Don't." He said weakly.

"Don't what, Baby?"

"Be scared…Wor…Worry." Tim's eyes drifted shut again and he fell asleep once again. Angela lost her tenuous hold on her tears and leaned down to kiss his forehead.

"Can't help it, Tim. I'm sorry you are feeling my emotions. You don't need that." There was movement at the door and both Gibbs and Angela glanced up to see Brad walking in with another doctor and two nurses.

"Gibbs. Angela. This is my colleague, Dr. Abrams. He's going to be taking Tim down for another CAT scan now to see how he's doing. If all's well, then we'll be taking him straight down to surgery."

"Okay." Angela nodded and gave Tim one last kiss on the forehead before stepping back to let them work. Brad moved around to stand with Gibbs, but kept his gaze fixed firmly on the nurses that were busy readying Tim for moving.

"Dr. Pitt." Brad turned towards Angela and offered her a sheepish smile. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things to you. I was just upset that my boy woke up and I wasn't there for him. I appreciate you staying with him last night."

"Don't worry about it. I heard you all talking and held the team back. Did it help?" Brad asked gently. "I thought you both needed to see how he was."

"It did. I thought you were going home to sleep?" Angela gently admonished.

"I was but my mind was restless. I paid my own boss a visit and managed to get a couple of days off."

"You should rest, Brad. I know how exhausting those two can be." Gibbs joked and smiled. "It's usually DiNozzo causing the sleepless nights though."

"Don't I know it, Gibbs. Look, I've told Dr. Abrams to call me and let me know what they are going to do. If the scans are clear, then Tim won't be back up here until later this afternoon because that knee and shoulder needs repairing as soon as possible. How about we all go and get a coffee and some breakfast. We can take it up to Tony."

Angela nodded and watched Tim being wheeled out of the room. She jumped slightly when Gibbs's arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"What do you think?"

"I'd like that." She answered with a sniffle and broke down. Gibbs pulled her close and enveloped her in a tight embrace; allowing her to let go of her pain at her family's condition.

"Come on then. I've still got questions about Tim's abilities. There anything else I should know about?"

Angela shook her head and laughed through her tears. "Not that I know of."

"Good, so how about you tell me more about the ones he does have." Gibbs guided her out of the room hoping that by her talking about Tim and his gifts, she would feel more at ease.

Brad sank into the chair at one of the tables in the hospital café and groaned. "Damn, I'm tired."

"You should go home and rest Dr…Brad" Angela offered warmly and set down the coffee that she had just bought for him. "Seriously, I appreciate you staying with, Tim, but you really do need to rest."

Gibbs sat down with a smile and sipped at his own coffee. "He was the same way with DiNozzo."

"Hey! I can't help it if your team managed to make me their friend. I will admit it's been an adventure with them." Brad grinned broadly and picked up his coffee. "Thanks for the coffee."

"You're welcome. Friends?"

"Hmm. When Tony had the plague, we realized that we played on opposing college football teams Turns out I was the player that broke his leg in one game.. There was never a day when one of the team wasn't there for him and, the rest is history so to speak. Never thought I'd be in this position again though." Gibbs saw the sadness that tore through the Doctor's eyes and shook his head.

"We gave ya a few years break. What more do you want?" He quipped hoping to lighten the mood.

"Gee, thanks."

"What're friends for?" Gibbs grinned and turned to Angela. "So, I got the precognition down, but the telep..telem..Telempa…."

"Telempathy. We've talked about it already and I told you that Tim's ability is weak. He only really picks up on the most turbulent emotions, though he does seem effected by the most joyous occasion. When Anna told us that she was pregnant with Izzy, her joy shone to us normal folk. To Tim, he felt the happiness and harnessed it. He was on a high for days."

"Why doesn't it show up at work?" Gibbs asked. He was trying to figure out why Tim hadn't used it to his advantage and used it with suspects; it could potentially be better than a lie detector.

"I know what you are thinking, Jethro, but like I said before,this is another thing that only manifests itself to my son's near and dear. He shuts it off a lot of the time because sometimes feeling people's emotions can be draining."

"I'm sorry. My brain is so tired it's shutting down. Precognition…Telempathy?" Brad had sat there quietly trying to take in what he was hearing.

"Yes."

"Tim?"

"Yes." Angela smiled when she answered his question. "He doesn't usually like Doctor's knowing about it. The last one that did wanted to test him and _disprove _what he can do."

"I'm not a researcher or a scientist. I'm a medical doctor and my main concern is Tim's health." Brad sat back in the chair and thought back to the week after Tony had been moved out of isolation. They had moved him into a private room in the hospital, though being so soon after contracting the plague; any visitors still had to wear a mask. "It actually explains a lot."

Gibbs narrowed his eyes at Brad. "In what way?"

"Tim turned up late one night and told us that we had to check on Tony. By all rights, Tony's body had been doing that by itself, but for some reason, Tim was adamant that we go and check. When we got there, Tony was suffocating on some thick mucus that had stuck in his throat. We had to suction it out but it was lodged tight. He started going blue until the oxygen had a chance to get back into his system. I never even thought it was weird that his teammate would just show up like that."

"He had a dream that Tony was choking and when he woke up, his throat was constricted." Angela replied softly. "I remember that night; he actually rang me and was torn because he didn't know what to do. I told him to go to the hospital."

Gibbs didn't know what to say, by the sound of it, Tim had saved Tony's life. "Why didn't the nursing staff notice, Brad?"

"They had just come from his room and paged me to look Tony over because his cough had become unproductive. I got there just as Tim flew out of the elevator."

"If he hadn't of seen that…." Gibbs trailed off and shook his head as the familiar stirrings of loss stirred in his gut.

"I know. He saved Tony, no doubt about it."

"Maybe not." Angela jumped in "You would have seen it if you had gone in there."

"No. I would have stood outside and spent ten minutes going over everything with the nurses before going to see him. He would have been dead if Tim hadn't given me that push. Damn!"

"Please, there are only two things that I ask right now. One, you take Tim seriously when he tells you something is wrong and you listen to him and two, you don't make a guinea pig out of him. His gifts are rare and frowned upon. I don't want him being treated like a lab rat or an outsider." Gibbs and Brad both saw the deep rooted sorrow in her eyes as she made her requests. They were honest and fair.

"I won't say a thing. It's not my place. All I'm interested in is getting Tim back on his feet." Brad reached over and took Angela's hand in his own. "I won't let anyone hurt him because of this. Not in this hospital."

"Thank you." She turned and looked at Gibbs. "And at work?"

"No one will touch him. Like I said, he's just like one of my kids. Besides, I've seen firsthand how these gifts help."

"Thank you." Angela said with a huge sigh of relief. "You have no idea what that means."

"I do. Look, we've been down here long enough. How about we get, DiNozzo some breakfast and go see how he's doing?" Gibbs stood up and gave Angela a brief hug before going to get Tony's breakfast and a fresh round of coffees.

"Come on! I'm fine!" Tony whined to the nurse that had just finished yet another neurological check. "This is stupid! I've been woken up every couple of hours since being stuck in this room and I'm tired! I want to leave so I can find out how Probie's doing and go get some rest."

The nurse sighed heavily and finished writing the notes on her chart. Tony had the fleeting thought that she'd probably written _pissy as hell_ at the bottom, but decided not to ask.

"Play nice, DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked as he walked in carrying four coffees. "How's he doing?"

"And you are?" the nurse asked warily.

"Answer the question, Anne." Brad ordered and sat down heavily in one of the chairs. "Trust me when I say, it's just easier that way."

"He's fine. Grumpy, but fine. The checks went well and we took him off oxygen at his 3am check. He'll have a headache for a few days, but apart from that, he's good to go. I'm just waiting for his doctor to sign off on the discharge and we can get him out of my hair."

"You're not as nice as, Nurse Emma! You know that right?" Tony spat out. "What happened to bedside manner?"

"It went out of the window when you started complaining at me three hours ago."

Gibbs grinned at the nurse's spunk and shook his head. "If you didn't have a concussion, I'd head slap ya. Settle down and eat your breakfast." Gibbs handed Tony the bag with his breakfast burrito in it and turned to look at Brad when his cell phone rang. He watched as the doctor answered it, hell-bent on listening intently to what was going on.

"Dr. Pitt…Okay, so you're taking him down now. The scans were clear…that's good news, tell Abrams to keep an eye on the pressure though…yeah…thanks, keep me informed." Brad snapped the cell shut and turned to the three expectant people in front of him.

"They're taking him down now. Apparently the scans showed that the swelling had reduced significantly and were good enough to take him to surgery. As well as repairing his knee and his shoulder, they'll fit him with a brace as well. No point in causing him anymore pain at the mo...M...moment." Brad yawned and rubbed at his eyes. "Sorry. I'm flagging a little bit."

"How long will the surgery take, Doctor?"

"Angela, please, call me Brad." Brad offered her a rueful smile and yawned again. "Sorry. To be honest, I'm not sure. It all depends on the severity of the damage when they go in. As well as pinning Tim's patella, they are going to be looking at the muscles, tendons and ligaments as well. If there's any repair work that needs doing to them, then they'll do it there and then. Tim's shoulder will be put back in place and they're going to fit a brace. The best thing to do is go home and wait there until they call you."

"Do you think I'll be allowed to go and sit with Jacob?" Angela's request was no big surprise to Gibbs and he hoped and prayed that Brad would agree to it. "It's just, I miss him and he needs to know what's going on. I'd rather he heard it from me."

"I don't see a problem with it at all."

"Okay. Tony, I'm glad you are feeling better. Please, do try and get some rest. Tim wouldn't want you worrying and making yourself sick." Angela walked over and pulled Tony into a quick hug. "He'll never forgive you if you do."

"I will. McGoo's gotta get better, Angela. Who'll keep me sane in the office?"

They pulled apart when Gibbs snorted into his coffee. "What?"

"Who will you torment, more like?"

"Boss, I'm wounded." Tony put his hand over his heart and gasped. "He's my kid brother."

"Tony, rest. Jethro, Brad, will one of you call me when you get news." Angela requested and looked at them with hope shining in her eyes.

"Of course we will. Gibbs has your number and as soon as Tim is out, I'll let you know."

"Thank you." Angela turned and left the room to go and fill Jacob in on Tim's condition. She knew deep down in her heart that her son was going to be okay; he was a fighter and the fact that he fought hard to find them and didn't give up on them gave her the hope that she needed.


	29. Chapter 28

"Okay. I need you to keep a close eye on this guy, Art. He's came in with a severe grade 3 concussion last night so _any_ changes in his vitals, and we stop until he stabilizes." The surgeon that was going to tackle Tim's injuries had been told of what to expect and of the way in which Tim's injuries had been inflicted, by Brad. He let the nurse slip on his gloves. "You okay, Zoe?"

"What? Oh…Um, yes. I'm fine Dr. Croft. I lost a patient today." Dr. Croft nodded with a look of sympathy radiating from his eyes.

"You know this is going to be a long one, don't you?"

"Yes Doctor."

"Okay, let's get started." He walked over to the table and gave a cursory glance at the monitors and was pleased to see them all well within the normal range. "Ready?"

There was a unified 'Yes Doctor' before he reached out his right hand to the person standing next to him. "We're going to start by putting his shoulder back in place. Please be aware that it's been dislocated for some time, so this maybe more difficult."

"How long?" the assisting doctor asked and moved to help support Tim's body while the shoulder was manipulated back. It took about ten minutes for it to finally pop back in with a sickening sound that resonated through the OR.

"Thank heavens. We need to put him in an immobilizing sling, but we need to fit the brace first. Did they manage to…"

"it's right here." Zoe picked up the brace from the trolly and handed it over

"Okay. I'm going to do get this knee fixed first because we need access to the monitors. Keep that brace and sling handy for when we've finished. Scalpel." He was handed his instrument and started making an incision before Tim's heart monitor started to beep frantically. With a frown, he pulled back and looked up only to find all other readings were normal. "Art?"

"I don't understand. There's no sign of distress apart from an increased heart rate. BP's good, O2 levels are holding steady...it's a mystery."

"We'll wait a moment." Dr. Croft said with a frown. "I don't want to do anything that could tip the scales." He tore his eyes away from the monitors when he heard a sniffle behind him and saw tears brimming from Zoe's eyes. "Zoe, as much as I appreciate you being here, you're in no condition to work on this so go on, go take the rest of the night and let me know if your supervisor has an issue with it."

"N..No, I'm fine. I can do this."

"You can't if you're upset and it was obvious when I first saw you. I should have barred you then." He watched as pain and fear flickered through her eyes. "It's not a punishment. You lost a patient and from the scuttlebutt that I heard, he was a friend. Go! That's an order."

Zoe nodded and stepped away from the table before pausing. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Do me a favor when you get out there and arrange for another nurse to step in. Do it quickly because we're gonna get going as soon as his heart rate drops." He watched Zoe leave the room and turned to Art. "Let's try Lanoxin. Get it prepared but…"

"It's slowing down." Art obviously hadn't been listening and had been scrutinizing the monitors. "It slowed down when Zoe left. It's well within normal parameters now."

"Keep your eye on it. If it starts to rise again, give him Lanoxin. Okay then. Shall we get started? Scalpel…."

Jacob winced as he moved and glanced down at his wife with a look of love and affection. She'd been through so much recently that he thought his heart would break if anyone of her family were killed because of some sick psycho engaged in a revenge plot. Angela stirred slightly and he rubbed his hand gently over her shoulder to still her and calm her back into a deep sleep.

"Jacob?" Gibbs said quietly as he entered the room. "You okay with Angela laying there. I can get another bed in here."

Tim's dad huffed out a small laugh. "I'm good. I like the closeness more than anything and miss having a warm body curled up next to me. You know what's funny?"

Gibbs shook his head and took a seat. "Go on."

"Despite everything that happened, I feel lucky that I have the family that I do." Jacob huffed out a chuckle and gazed at Gibbs. "So, you're Gibbs."

"How d'ya know?" the Team leader responded quietly and sat down next to the bed.

"Tim has a picture of the team in his apartment. Last time we were in DC, he had us all over for dinner and I saw it then. You should have seen him light up when he talked about you guys."

Gibbs felt his heat pull at the tidbit of information that he had just been handed and knew from conversations that he'd had with his agent's mother over the past couple of days, that Tim considered the team to be family.

"Sounds like, McGee."

"He's a good kid, Agent Gibbs." Jacob said sadly. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost him….either one of them. Sarah's got a little bit more fire in her heart that tends to get her into trouble where as Tim's a good boy with a heart of pure gold. Is there any news on the surgery?"

"Not yet. I know Brad's gone down to see how it's going so hopefully we'll know soon."

Jacob's eyes narrowed slightly and Gibbs felt a little of what it would be like to the victim of his own glare. "Who's Brad?"

"Easy there , Commander. Dr. Brad Pitt is an old friend to our team and stayed with Tim last night so Angela could get some shuteye. He's a good man."

"Brad Pitt?" Jacob looked as though he was torn between laughter and disbelieve at the name.

"Jake, play nice, honey." Angela's sleep heavy voice trailed up from where she was pillowed against his chest. "He helped Tim a lot last night and for that, I owe him."

She finally raised her head and looked over her shoulder at Gibbs. "Any news?"

"Not yet. Guess you missed that part." He answered with a smile. "Brad'll be here any minute."

"You feel better now, Angela?" Jacob asked and kissed the top of her head. "That's not the way I'd like to see my wife trying to sleep you know." Angela flushed at the gentle chastisement and disentangled herself from her husband.

"Sorry." At Gibbs' confusion, she explained how she had gotten to Jacob's room and pretty much broke down there and then. Jake had simply pulled his wife into his arms and let her cry herself out until she finally crawled up beside him and fell asleep. "I didn't want to worry, Jacob but think I just about managed to scare the life out of him with my breakdown."

"He's made of sterner stuff than that."Gibbs smiled warmly at her. "I can see where Tim gets it from." He turned at the sound of footsteps behind him and saw Brad padding into the room.

"Brad! How is he." Angela cried and stood up so that she could better take in what he had to say.

"He's doing okay. There was a slight…His heart rate shot up just before surgery with no explanation but it calmed down just before they started. They've got his shoulder back in place and have fitted him with a back brace. They're just finishing up on his knee now."

Angela's hand flew to her mouth when Brad mentioned Tim's heart, but something nagged desperately at the back of her mind. "His heart?"

"Yeah, I spoke to Zoe…the nurse that should have been there…and she said his heart rate shot up but the other vitals were more than stable. It's strange, because with palpitations, the BP shoots up too but there was nothing." Brad must have looked confused because everyone frowned at him.

"It's…Brad, last time my son had surgery was after he crashed his car when he was 16. He had to have surgery to repair a bad break in his leg. Half way through fixing him, the doctors said his heart rate skyrocketed but there were no symptoms of distress at all. Turned out to be a case of his telempathy kicking in when he was unconscious because when he came round, he asked how the doctor was doing."

"The doctor?" Gibbs jumped in.

"Yeah, apparently he'd lost another child that morning and had taken it hard. He went into that operation feeling angry and grief ridden and there was something in that surgery that mirrored what he had done earlier on in the day. Anesthesia apparently makes Tim more sensitive and he picked up on that emotion despite being completely out.

"How did you know about what happened? Did Tim know?" Brad asked incredulously. "I mean, how could he know what had happened?"

"We found out from a nurse friend of mine that worked alongside the surgeon. She told us what had happened. I'm willing to bet that there was one person in that room grieving." Angela responded knowingly and watched as Brads eyes widened with amazement.

"Zoe." He whispered. "The nurse that was sent out of the surgery had lost a patient an hour before. Turned out to be one of her best friends."

"There's your reason." Jake offered from his bed. "It's also one of the reasons my son steers clear of sleeping pills or sedatives. Jacob McGee, nice to meet you, Doctor."

Brad crossed the room and shook the older McGee's hand. "Dr. Brad Pitt. How are you doing now?" he asked as he picked up the chart and started to read.

"Better. Knee's gonna be sore for a while but it's better than the alternative." Jake frowned heavily. "You got them, right?"

"Yeah. They're at NCIS being grilled as we speak by Director Vance. Apparently he didn't wanna give it to the other team." Gibbs' eyes took on a manic quality at the thought of the two people who had caused so much pain and suffering. "Don't know what he's gonna get outta them. We already know what happened."

The room went silent as every person there started pondering the situation.

"You keep saying that Agent McGee wrecked your career. I don't see how that is possible considering you made your own choices in life." Vance sat in the interview room with his back to the large two way mirror on the wall. "What I have trouble understanding right about now, is how you thought you could get away with this."

Jason balked at that statement and saw red. "I didn't plan to get away with it! I wanted them dead! You hear that D E A D! DEAD! He took my life so why shouldn't he suffer as much as I have. He's…."

"Currently in surgery, fighting for his life. Don't you think it's wasted if he doesn't get to feel that pain? If he doesn't get to find out what it's like to feel that loss? You failed Jason!"

Vance sat back and felt a sick sense of satisfaction at the look of shock and disappointment that ran over Jason's face. "Hurt's, don't it?"

The silence that hung between the two men glared at each other with enough contempt and hatred that it permeated through the room and into the observation room where they were being watched by a small handful of NCIS staff.

"Nothing to say? I thought a man like you would at least try to defend his actions. Guess I was wrong. You really are as weak and pathetic as I originally thought." Vance was pulling out all the punches and wanted to goad this sick, twisted, troubled young man into doing something stupid. It wasn't logical and it sure as hell wasn't something that would be easily agreed to, but at the end of the day, this bastard had placed not only one of his Agent's in danger, but his entire family as well. That was simply unacceptable and if the Director had any say in the matter, then this guy would be spending the rest of his life in prison.

"And what kind of man do you think I am?" Jason responded with a cold, calculated tone. "It would seem that we all have our opinions on each other. NCIS seem hell bent on ruining my life, after all, getting rid of my chances to actually succeed in the career paths I wanted to go down wasn't enough for you and now you want to put me in prison."

"NCIS? You can't possibly think that what you did is the fault of NCIS. Not only did you kidnap Agent Timothy McGee's family, but you have injured and maimed two of my best Agents. How is that their fault?"

"HE STOPPED ME FROM GETTING ANYWHERE IN LIFE! I can't do anything with that permanent mark on my record." Jason screamed but collapsed back in the chair as the fight seemed to drain out of him. "I'm no body. I can't do a thing because everyone refers back to what happened and my father…." He trailed off. "My father hates me."

_Was it a ruse? Was he sincere?_ Whichever route he was taking, the sympathy just wasn't there in lieu of what he'd done and the Director found himself glaring at the monster sitting in front of him. "And what exactly makes you think that I actually care?"

"You should care! It's one of _your_ agent's that made me this way!"

"Hmm. I'm sure you really believe that don't you." Vance said snidely and sat back in the chair. "So, tell me about Andy. How did you two meet?"

"You know how we met so I'll tell you what. You write it up, I'll read it and will sign whatever you come up with." Jason knew that he had Vance by the balls and smirked at the Director.

"Not gonna happen. Tell ya what, here's a pad and pencil." He slid a notebook and retractable pencil over to Jason. "You write the statement and I'll sit here and wait."

"What if I don't?" Jason spat out at being held up further in the room that harbored memories of that fateful day. "You can't keep me here for long."

"Yeah. I can." That was it, Jason's patience pretty much just snapped all of a sudden leaving him red faced with sheer, unadulterated rage. He shot up out of his seat and jumped across the table so that he could launch at Vance. He just about managed to get his hands around Vance's throat when he was pulled back by two Agent's who had been in the observation room and seen what he was doing.

"That was probably one of the most stupid things you could do right about now. It'll give the Jury something else to think about." Vance grabbed the file he had been looking through and walked out of the room. Just as he closed the door, his cell phone rang.

"Vance!" He answered gruffly.

_"Leon."_

"Gibbs. How're your men doing?" Vance asked worriedly as he walked down the corridor towards the elevator.

"_DiNozzo's good. He's being released this morning. Ducky's gonna take him to his place__ and keep an eye on him__."_

There was an undertone of sadness that laced Gibbs' voice. "And what about, McGee?"

"_Still in surgery. Brad said __they took care of his shoulder first and they're just finishing up on his knee. They put the brace on and once the sling is fitted, he'll be moved to recovery__." _Vance waited for Gibbs to start speaking again knowing the Agent sometimes liked to think about what he said. "_How'd it go with…."_

_"_Damn fool tried to attack me. I'm gonna send in another team to interview him once he's calmed down. I've had Andy's chief giving me grief over the whole thing, but he soon backed down once I laid down the facts for him. I think our LEO friends are feeling a big shamefaced over it."

"_The damn well should!" _Gibbs huffed out. _"They must have known, Leon."_

"Not necessarily, Gibbs. Good at covering up what he was doing. Regardless, Internal Affairs are crawling over their station house as we speak and are going through every file with a fine tooth comb. They won't get away with this, Gibbs."

"_I kno…Hang on….Yeah, Okay thanks. Leon, McGee's outta surgery."_

"Okay. Gibbs, go make sure he's alright and keep me informed." Vance hung up the phone and punched the button to the elevator to go back to his office. Once there, he stopped at Pam's desk and leaned in to talk to her.

"Pam, I need you to do something for me….."


	30. Chapter 29

**Hi Guys**

**I'm so so sorry for getting behind with posting this. Smartkid37 will deliver the headslaps as soon as possible. For now, enjoy...**

* * *

"_Pam, I need you to do something for me….."_

Pam sat her desk searching for the phone number the she would need. Luckily, finding phone numbers for ex-military personnel wasn't really that difficult. Her computer dinged, telling her that the directory held the information that she needed. With a trembling hand, she dialed the number and waited for the gruff voice to answer.

"_Geckler!" _The barked response made her jump, but she soon pulled herself together enough to be able to speak normally.

"Um..Lieutenant Commander Geckler. My name is Pam Cook and I work at NCIS. Director Vance has…."

"_NCIS? What the hell do you guys want now? If this has got anything to do with what happened years ago with my son, then I've gotta tell you, I won't be taking it too kindly."_

Pam didn't know what to say, after all, she was just the secretary and all she had to do was try and get the guy in to see the Director. She sighed heavily. "No Sir. Director Vance has asked to see you about a matter pertaining to your son. I'm sorry, but I can't divulge any information over the phone, but if you would be as kind as to come in, then it will all be made clear then."

"_Damn it! What will be 'made clear' exactly? You want me to come in on that? I'm sorry but…"_

"Sir, it is an important matter that we need your help with, your son…."

"Pam!" She jumped at the sound of Director Vance's voice and looked up with a frantic look in her eye. "Put him through, I'll speak to him."

With a nod, Pam turned back to the phone call. "Lieutenant Commander, the Director wishes to speak to you. Please hold while I transfer you." She waited for the gruff 'fine' on the other end before transferring the call. Once it had been done, she put her head in her hands and breathed deeply knowing that whatever happened, Geckler Sr. was not going to be easy to deal with.

Gibbs walked back into Jacob's room and sat down heavily in one of the chairs next to the bed. 'Vance said Geckler tried to attack him but he managed to talk down Andy's chief."

"Talk down his chief?" Angela's shocked voice rang through the room. "Talk him down? That son of a…he helped hurt my family! He was a friend of Jim and Anna's. His chief shouldn't need talking down!"

"Sweetheart. Hey!" Jacob called her firmly and reached over to wipe the angry tear away from her cheek. "it's alright. We don't need to be worrying about that right now, okay?"

"But…"

"No buts. Tim's and Sarah are our priority right now. We worry about them."

Angela conceded and nuzzled into her husband's hand. "I'm sorry. I'm just so…"

"I know. Look, Tim's outta surgery and once we get the okay from the doc, we'll go and see him. For now, we know he's doing okay and made it through that at least." Gibbs reasoned out and finished with a small smile. "He's gonna be okay, Angela."

Tim's mom smiled at Gibbs and nodded her head. It was strange, but she found herself trusting this man and if he said Tim was going to be okay, then Tim was going to be okay. She knew how much her son…her baby boy, _Oh Tim_...She broke off with a slight sob and felt strong arms pull her back from the bed and into a gentle hug.

"Talk to me." Gibbs' voice rumbled in her ear.

"I was just…thinking about how much Tim trusts you. About how highly he thinks of you, Jake's always said he shares him. He'll always be his biological father, but he'll always share him with you. If you say he's going to be okay, then I believe you."

"She's right."Jacob agreed. "Sometimes I do feel as though I share him with you. The boy talks about you and the team all the time."

Angela broke free from Gibbs and climbed up on Jacob's bed once again to curl around him.

"I…We…" Gibbs found himself at a complete loss for words. _What do you say to something like that? By all rights, it's the highest honor anyone can give, but for Tim to hold him in such high esteem…that was special_. "Jacob, I'm not taking him away from you."

"What? Why in the world would you think that? Gibbs, I'm a fair drive away from him. I can't be there to protect him and the fact that you and the team can, puts my mind at rest. This…" Jacob swirled his hand around in the air to signify the situation. "Was unavoidable. From what I've been told, you did what you could for my boy and I couldn't be more grateful. Thank you. For everything."

Sincerity shone bright in the older McGee's eyes and Gibbs felt his throat constrict with emotion. He nodded, unable to find the words that he wanted to say. Instead, he felt a warm hand grasp his and squeeze once. When he looked down, Jacob had reached over and secured a bond…_from one father to another._

"Thank you. I mean that. It scares me sometimes knowing that he's so far away, but I know people love him….just, thank you."

"You're welcome. He's a good kid." Gibbs finally manages to get out, his voice tight with the feelings that he was trying desperately to withhold. He squeezed Jacob's hand back and looked up when there was a knock at the door.

"Ahh, Jethro. I was told I'd find you here. Angela how are you, my dear?" Angela stood up and walked over to Ducky to give him a hug.

"I'm okay, Ducky."

"Like hell you are, sweetheart. Dr. Mallard…."

"Ducky. Please."

"Ducky, she's exhausted and wrung out. Don't let her fool you." Jacob's stern look reminded Ducky of the intense glare that he'd seen so often from his friend. "She needs to rest, but even I know that won't happen until she sees Tim."

"No! it won't, Jake!." She snapped out and deflated in front of them. "Sorry. You know me, Honey. These are my kids."

"I know sweetheart, but you'll do them no favors running yourself into the ground. You know that as well as I do." Ducky scrutinized Jacob and saw the lines of exhaustion and worry marring the handsome face. with a frown, he picked up the chart at the end of the bed and glanced over the last notes that the nurse had written.

"Jacob, why did you refuse the pain meds?" he asked and tutted loudly. "Honestly, between you and Jethro it's plain to see where young Timothy gets some of his stubbornness from."

There was a collective smile between the three parents at that comment leaving Ducky feeling slightly confused as to what it was he'd said.

"Ahh…um, where was I? Oh yes, you must take the meds. There's no point in lying there in pain."

"It's not too bad and I want to be fully there when they let us know. They make me fuzzy."

"Dad?" Sarah's voice cut into Ducky's argument and they all turned to see her shakily standing in the doorway, flanked by Tony and Ziva. "What…?"

"Sarah. Sweetheart it's okay. C'mere." She walked over to her father and hugged him tightly. It was obvious that the cracks were starting to show with her and Ducky made a mental note to contact the NCIS psychologist to get them all appointments to deal with the stress that this has caused. He turned back when he heard Sarah starting to sob loudly.

"Um..Boss?" Tony said tentatively from the door. Gibbs turned to see him holding Ziva in his arms, nodding towards Abby who had joined them. The young goth looked scared to enter the room and was standing in the hallway wringing her hands. Gibbs nodded and told everyone that he'd be back soon.

"Abbs? You okay?" Abby shook her head and launched herself at Gibbs. He enveloped her in his arms and held her tight until the trembling stopped completely. "Talk to me."

Abby stepped back and pulled an evidence bag out of her purse. Gibbs frowns before realization comes crashing down on him.

"Jesus! Abbs where is this from?" he demands harshly. "Where?"

"It was…they bought it back from the Island. Vance wanted the evidence processing ASAP so I went in. this was among it all. Gibbs, I ran the DNA from the insides and it matched."

Gibbs felt the air whoosh out of his lungs…_how in the hell had they forgotten that! He broke his hand a few days ago so it must have been hurting like hell? Damn it! They missed it. In the bedlam and madness, they'd missed the pre-existing injury._

"Ducky! Get out here!" Gibbs could see that his shout had both the occupants of the room and the people in the hallway looking at him. He didn't care though, all that mattered now was that they get this sorted as soon as possible.

"Jethro. For Heaven's sake, what is it?." Ducky said as he walked out but stood stock still when Gibbs held up the cast. "Oh no, oh the poor boy. I'd completely forgotten about his hand and wrist. That is Timothy's isn't it? In the melee at the bunker, I was focused on the newer injuries…" Ducky trailed off looking forlorn. "I even…Jethro I checked his wrists for damage. I….Oh, no. I focused on those briefly but his other injuries took precedence. Jethro I'm sorry."

Gibbs eyed his old friend and saw the sorrow that resided in his eyes at the oversight. Truth be told, there had been much more pressing matters to deal with at the time, the main one being getting Tim to realize he'd been rescued as well as getting him ready for transport.

"Duck. Don't worry, okay. We'll let them know and they'll be able to sort it out." He placed his hand on Ducky's shoulder and briefly caught the nod, his attention being captured by Brad walking down the corridor with another Doctor in tow.

"Ahh, Bradley. How are you young man." Ducky extended his hand to the younger Doctor and friend.

"Hey there, Ducky. I'm fine…or at least I will be when this bunch stops showing up in my hospital." Brad shook Ducky's hand warmly and offered a smile. "It's becoming too much of a habit for my liking."

"For us all, I'm afraid young man. Now, there is something I need to talk to, Timothy's attending physician about. Do you know who it is I need to speak to?"

"This guy right here." Brad answered with a smile and pointed towards the other Doctor. "Alex, this is Doctor Mallard ; AKA, Ducky."

The other doctor with Brad stepped forward and offered his hand. "I'm Alex Croft and I performed Tim's surgery. Actually, I have a question of my own and Brad said that you'd probably be the best one to ask."

"Well then ask away and let's see if we can clear up all that needs to be clarified for our patient, hmm?"

"There was…I looked over some of the x-rays at the end of the surgery just to be sure that we had everything, and I noticed that there was a hairline fracture in his wrist along with some broken bones in his hand. Now, these weren't a result of his injuries, but looking at the x-rays, the hairline has been made worse. To be honest, we were so focused on his other injuries that I didn't look at the films until I'd finished the surgery. We've casted it and luckily, it's the immobilized limb so it shouldn't cause problems for him with regards to having some independence to do thing, but…"

"You need to know how it happened."

Alex nodded.

"Ah, well our young man had an argument with a wall at a particularly low point in this whole ordeal, I'm afraid…well a door frame at the very least. He lost and to be honest his pre-existing injury was one that I wanted to talk to you about myself. With everything going on I had completely forgotten about it."

Ducky felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Brad offering his silent support.

"Duck?" Gibbs said softy from where he stood, still holding Abby. "Not your fault. He'll heal. Right?"

Alex nodded but sighed heavily. "Yes. He will heal. It's going to be a long recover though."

Gibbs nodded. "It'll take as long as it takes. He's got the time. We just need to make sure he knows that."

"Excuse me. Ms. Cook? I'm Oliver from down in Security. This is Lt. Commander Geckler. I've been instructed to escort him through the building to see Director Vance." Pam looked up from the transcription she was doing and smiled warmly at the Security Guard who'd been with the agency for over a year now. She always found it charming that he was still as bashful as Agent McGee, two peas in a pod she always thought.

"Hi, Oliver. I remember you." Turning her attention to their visitor, she spoke to him. " Lt. Commander Geckler, I'm Pam Cook. We spoke on the phone earlier.

"Tom Geckler…, I'm retired now." He said with a rueful smile.

"Oh, of course. Please take a seat and I'll let the Director know that you are here." He turned and sat in the chairs that were laid out for visitors. She made the call through to the Director. "Sir, Director Vance will be with you shortly."

No more than two minutes later, she watched with trepidation as a very stern looking Leon Vance welcomed Jason Geckler's father into his office. That was one conversation she would like to be a fly on the wall for, but knew that no matter what transpired, it wouldn't change the fact that his son had kidnapped and hurt a whole family for the vengeance kick that he wanted. With a sigh, she turned back to what she was doing.

Vance closed the door behind the Lieutenant Commander and indicated for him to sit down at the conference table. He had already prepared a dossier of charges against his son, complete with the information in there about what had transpired…well, the information that he could give out anyway. Before he sat down, he slid the file across and saw the flicker of distrust fly across the man's face.

"Your son has done a lot of damage, sir. He not only kidnapped and savagely beat one of my best Agents, but he also treated the agent's family to the same callous disregard; kidnapping and brutally beating them as well. Not to mention a second agent, a team mate of the first agent. You have any idea why he'd take such drastic action?"

Tom seemed to deflate in front of him and rubbed a tired hand over his eyes. "No. My son has always been the class bully. I couldn't tell you the amount of complaints I've had because of him. I can tell you though, that what happened with NCIS did stop any chance of him getting anywhere in life. No one would give him a chance."

Vance slid another file across the table towards Tom and sat back patiently waiting for the man to read through knowing that what was in the file, could potentially be damning to a fault for his son.

"What the hell? Where did you get these?"

"We're NCIS, Lieutenant Commander. We have our sources. Now, from that you can see that what happened here all those years ago, have had little bearing on whether or not your son has succeeded. Most military institutions will take into account his criminal record, but do give second chances. The reason that your son was dismissed, was because of the numerous misdemeanors that appear on his record for various crimes ranging from grand theft auto to assault. If you read on, there are also damning references in there as well. One from his highschool and one from a job that he held for no longer than three months. What he did all those years ago simply became a part of a long record that has been built over the years."

Tom sat back and shook his head. "So why is it, that I don't know about any of them?"

"At the time, we were obligated to contact you because of he was a minor. He came of age not long after that and if you look at the dates on the records, then you'll see that he was convicted as an adult. They occurred after we pulled him in. Sir, your son focused on something and decided that it was to blame for whatever has happened in his life. He used that anger and turned it towards the one person he has focused on. What's worse, he used someone to get inside and infiltrate the family."

"He's not getting out of this, this time."

"No sir, he's not." Vance stood up and moved towards his door. "Now, your son has been combative and aggressive. I won't tolerate it for much longer and I will tell you that we have enough evidence to put him away for a long time…that is, if they don't issue the death sentence. What I need you to do, is to talk to him. Calm him down enough so that we can get a statement."

"if I don't?" Tom growled and narrowed his eyes.

"If you don't, then we do this the hard way."

Gibbs stood outside the ICU with his arm around Angela. They had been told that they could go in and see Tim and that he should be waking up soon because given his injuries and the initial concussion, they didn't want to keep him down for too long. Angela rested her head against Gibbs' chest and let out a choked sob.

"Hey. It's okay." Gibbs soothed and pulled her in tighter. "I know it's hard, but he'll want you there when he wakes up. We both know he'll worry if you're not."

Angela nodded and whispered a barely audible "I know." Before moving back and sucking in a deep breath. "Will everyone else be okay?"

"They'll be fine. Jacob'll keep them all in hand." Gibbs quipped and smiled warmly. Dr. Croft had told them that Tim was out of recovery and that they could see him within the hour. That was forty-five minutes ago and after getting the go ahead for two of them to go down, Gibbs and Angela made their way to the ICU floor, where Tim had been taken to.

Angela chuckled and nodded. "And they all need it."

"Yeah, they do. Sarah looked a bit happier." Gibbs thought back to the youngest McGee and how she had relaxed in her father's arms once everyone turned up. When they had left, she was sitting cross legged on the end of her father's bed, just to the side of his casted leg.

"Hmm. She did, I think having people around that care helps." Gibbs nodded and kissed her on the cheek.

"It does and it won't be long before you have your boy's back either. He's resilient and a fighter."

"Longer than I care to think about Jethro. Do you think, Tim would come home with us for a while, or at the very least let us stay here? If I'm going to be honest, our family home just doesn't feel like home anymore." The look of complete, abject pain in her eyes felt like a shot to the heart for Gibbs. He had no idea…or at least he hadn't given it a thought, that the home where it all happened was the one that Jacob and Angela McGee had bought their kids up. It was a family home full of love and adoration for the strong family unit that they were.

"It will. Give it time."

"No. It won't. He...Jethro he had my photographs and I don't know whether I'm ever going to get them back again. He kept them all in a box on the floor and smashed the frames on a couple of them. They were my memories; the things I used to look back on and remember the kids as they were growing up. Their proudest moments. I can tell you the exact date that they were all taken and what they signify."

Gibbs thought back and made a mental not to check whether they'd been recovered or not. If they hadn't, then he'd go back himself to bring those precious photographs back to the warm, heartbroken women standing by his side.

"Angela, come on. Let's go see your boy because neither one of us want him waking up by himself."

Angela nodded and followed Gibbs through the ICU unit doors to find Tim and hopefully soothe him through those first terrible waking moments he was bound to have.

The first thing to hit Tim was sound…the beeping of a heart monitor; nurses talking to him calmly as they went about their duties; the sound of footsteps and the squeaking of rubber soled shoes. What he remembered better though, the one thing that he remembered the most was the sound of his mom talking to Gibbs. Two voices that punched through the thick mire of unconsciousness that seemed to blanket him.

It wasn't long before he started to feel other sensations like the warmth that flowed through his right hand; something that was a stark contrast to the bone deep chill that he currently felt. He felt the pinch of and I.V. in his neck…_my neck? What the hell?..._and the uncomfortable feeling of a catheter. The worst of all though, was the tube in his mouth stopping him from breathing…_NO! that can't be right! I am breathing, just….what?_

His chest bucked as he tried to suck in a breath; his body knowing exactly what it needed to do as its natural survival instinct kicked in. He felt pain starting to radiate through him; his shoulder, his wrist, his back, his kidneys; his knee and finally, his head. Not a nice mix at all but it was enough to pull him from the thick mire that was fogging his mind back to bleary wakefulness. As he opened his eyes, full panic set in at the tube in his mouth and it was all he could do between the gagging and the choking, to focus on the hands that were gently soothing him and the soft whispered words of encouragement that were meant to help allay his fears.

"Tim, it's okay Baby. It's okay…shhh, your doctor is coming now and we'll have that removed, okay? I just need you to calm down my brave, brave boy. Let the machine do the work for a few more minutes…that's it, Sweetheart, good boy."

_Mom?_ He moved his glassy green eyes to look at her and knew at that moment, that he would be okay. His Mom was safe and no doubt the rest of the family was too.

She held his gaze for a moment and leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. "The doctor' s here now, Tim. He's going to take the ventilator out, okay. I'll be here and so will Gibbs."

With a nod, she stepped back and Tim's vision was filled by a strange man talking to him. "Tim, we're going to take that out. I know it's uncomfortable and it won't feel nice coming out but you'll be free of it in a moment. I'm going to disconnect the ventilator and the stickers before counting to three and pulling it out. When I get to three, I need you to exhale as much as you can. If you understand, blink once for yes and twice for no."

Tim's mind finally caught up with what he was being told and he blinked once to show that he understood…_or at least he thought he did._ It was horrible, Tim knew that much and the feeling of the tube sliding up and out made him choke even more. Once he had calmed down and had been given a sip of water to get rid of the dryness in his mouth, the doctor did a cursory check before injecting something into his I.V. and standing back with a smile.

"Well, you're doing as well as can be expected, Tim. I'm going to leave you with your family for the time being and will be back later to check on you." Tim couldn't quite make out the words as something pulled him back into the pain free darkness once again.


	31. Chapter 30

Tom Geckler entered the room where his son had been escorted, and frowned as he took in the surroundings. Memories of this very same room flooded back to him as he remembered the day that he'd come here to pick his son up after he'd been implicated in the kidnapping of a Navy Lieutenant. He still didn't know how Jason had got hold of the victim's cell phone but what he did know, was that his son had handed it to two other kids and implicated them. He remembered feeling shocked when he'd been escorted into this room so he could listen to the truth about the trouble his son had been in that day. It was something that he'd never forgotten; especially seeing as that seemed to be the day that damn near tore his family apart and crushed his wife.

The troubled father let his gaze drift to where his son was sitting, handcuffed to the chair, and sighed heavily. _Who was this man? Sure, he recognized the features; they were older now, but that was to be expected because he hadn't seen his boy in years._ yet he was a complete stranger to him now. Truth be told, he had disowned Jason after one of the numerous times the kid had been arrested, telling him that if he didn't sort himself out, then he'd find himself without a family. Jason had simply sneered at him and walked away.

"Jason, what the hell have you got yourself into this time, boy?" Tom asked his...son? _Was this monster sitting in front of him his son? He just didn't know anymore. How was it possible that something so evil, could be born to him and his wife. Jason was the very spawn of Satan and in his eyes, there was no redemption this time_. "Why? That's all I ask. Why? You know your mother is in pieces over this?"

"Jesus. You've got to be kidding me! Come to gloat, Dad? Is that it? Well, you've had your fill, so how about you just turn round, walk out that door and give Mommy dearest a message from me."

Tom frowned at Jason's harsh words and shook his head. "You never change, do ya, boy? You always have to play the hard ass. Well I've got news for you, son. There's no getting out of this one. You've done yourself proud here."

"Like I give a crap!" Jason cocked his head slightly and smirked evilly. "Tell Mom I said hi and thanks for all the help she never gave me. Her own son; flesh and blood Dad...for what it's worth. Tell her I said thanks a lot for the years of unyielding support she showed; oh wait! That was someone else. As far as I'm concerned, she can go fu..."

Tom slammed his hand down on the desk at Jason's sarcastic remarks and leaned over so that he was in his son's face. "DON'T you dare talk about your mother like that, you little bastard. I won't stand for it! That woman gave you life and everything she ever could and you threw it all back in her face. You damn near broke her heart and what does she get in return? Nothing but sarcasm and hatred! You have no idea! Family doesn't mean anything to you!"

"FAMILY?" Jason's scream tore through the room and the sound of the handcuffs rattling was left in its' wake as he tried to stand but failed due to his shackles. "DON'T TALK TO ME ABOUT FAMILY! YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR PRECIOUS FAMILY IDEALS HAVE DONE? HUH?"

"Enlighten me." Tom requested firmly as he stood back and put some distance between them so he could keep his anger in check.

Jason relaxed back into the chair and laughed harshly. "They made me who I am today. It's because of you Pa, all because of you and your drive for perfection. You didn't want us to live, you pushed us down so hard that rebellion was all I had left! You always got so pissed at me for being the class bully, but it was your fault! I had no other way to let it out. All that anger and crap you pounded into us had to come out somehow!"

"Funny, your sister didn't seem to have a problem." Tom replied and sat back in his own chair. "She turned out rather well. Oh, by the way, she's got a family now and a good job."

"Whatever!" Jason shook his head and looked over his Dad's shoulder; completely unable to keep eye contact. "Who the hell cares? You know what? Since that day, I haven't been able to get Jack from anyone. I can't get a job. I can't get into the military and you know what? I'm sick of it. I want a life. I wanted to be able to go to work, but I couldn't get anyone to even give me a chance! I've got a record because of a stupid phone, _Tom!"_

_"_And yet there are people out there who manage just fine. You can't blame other people for your indiscretions, son. You did this. You took your revenge and dug your own hole and hurt people in the process."

"They got what they deserved!"

"Who? Agent McGee's family? Tom questioned with a frown. He watched as his son's eyes darkened at the mention of the NCIS Agent.

"Yeah, and I enjoyed every minute of watching them suffer! I can still hear the sound of bone breaking as I bought the bat down on them. I can smell the fear from his poor little mother and sister when I went near them. Oh I wanted to hurt them. I wanted to make _Agent _McGee see the pain and fear in their eyes. I was tempted you know? I wanted to take his little sister and make her beg as I drove into her..."

"You evil little bastard!" Tom said quietly, with vehemence. "They were innocent! Hell, Andy was innocent and you screwed his career up with your petty little delusions."

"Petty? Huh, that's what it is. Okay." Jason shrugged. "As for Andy, he knows what I went through. I didn't force his hand. It was a good ploy though. It took years to plan and now...well now I know I've caused enough damage to that family to last a lifetime. _Agent _McGee will be lucky if he ever works as an Agent ever again after what I did. The injuries alone will make him pretty damn useless. Maybe he can go back to being a class sissy, ya know one of them wusses that gets stepped all over; he sure didn't mind claiming to be one when he was ruining my life!"

"You underestimate them, Jason. Agent McGee has something that you will never have."

"Oh, _please!_ Do tell." Jason spat out and snorted.

"A strong family behind him. You might have damaged them, but they are still together. Right now, you are alone and that's the way you'll stay, because I am ashamed to call you my son."

Vance stood in the observation room chewing on his toothpick. After everything that he'd heard, he knew at that moment that the man that had hurt Tim and his family needed help. It went above and beyond your straight forward rap; no, this was psychiatric and if Jason didn't end up in a maximum security military prison, then it was a fair bet that the young man would be locked up in a psych ward for the rest of his life.

"You go that?" He asked the technician quietly.

"Yes sir. Everything is recorded."

"Good. I want 3 copies of that." Vance picked up the file and moved out of the room so that he could relieve Jason's father. He paused briefly outside the room and shook his head. This wasn't going to be easy and the chances are that the kid wouldn't talk to him, but he had to try. With a heavy sigh, he pulled the wooden pick out of his mouth and placed it in his shirt pocket before entering the room.

"Mr. Geckler..." Two sets of eyes locked onto him, but he kept eye contact with Tom to let him know who he was speaking to. "You can leave now."

Tom stood up and shook his head. "Good luck with him. Right now, if I had my way I'd execute his sorry ass."

"You can watch from the observation room if you wish." Tom nodded and made his way out. Vance sat down and dropped the file onto the table before folding his hands together and resting them on top.

"So, Jason. You ready to talk?"

Jason looked up at the Director and for the first time since he came in, Vance saw something shine brightly in Jason's eyes. Had he met the kid under different circumstances, he would have felt sorry for him; but after everything that this wanna be had said and done, he just couldn't find it in his heart to feel that way. Jason gazed at him with a saddened look on his face and nodded curtly. For the first time since the kid had arrived at NCIS, Vance saw nothing but fear and vulnerability in his eyes.

Angela shifted in her seat and shivered slightly. The ICU wasn't particularly cold, but the exhaustion and the fact that she hadn't eaten in a while were catching up to her. She folded her arms around herself in an attempt to gather heat and shuddered. Gibbs saw the small tremor and leaned forward to take off his jacket.

"Here." He said gently as he wrapped it around her shoulders. "You need to rest."

"I know. But I don't want to leave, Tim." She answered softly. "I want to be here if he wakes up."

"Mom...Go..." Tim slurred from where he lay and Angela jumped up from her chair.

"Tim. Baby, it's good to hear your voice." Tears leaked from her eyes and she saw Tim frown.

"S'okay..."

"Hey, McGee. Stay awake alright? The doc wanted to talk to ya when you woke up next." Gibbs reached over and pressed the button for the nurse's station.

"K"

Angela reached down and gently brushed Tim's hair back. "How are you feeling, honey?"

"Tired...Floa...Floaty. Gonna...take off..." Tim's answer confused her and she looked over at Gibbs with panic in her eyes. All of a sudden, Tim's heart monitor started sounding the alarm that alerted the medical staff to his anxiety. Gibbs looked down and saw the creased brow and understood at that moment, that Tim was picking up on Angela's worry.

"Mom...M'kay." Tim said softly and it was obvious that he was battling with exhaustion. "You...Kay?"

"Yes baby. I'm fine."

Tim frowned at her and shook his head.

"Honey, we're all okay." She wanted nothing more than to soothe away her son's worry knowing that he _knew_ exactly how they were really feeling. All she had at that moment was her reassurances and tender words. She pushed down her emotions and gently ran her hand through Tim's hair in a way that was reminiscent to what she did when he was a young boy.

"Hmm...Me...me too." Tim's stoic statement shocked Gibbs and he couldn't help but think that the kid was being strong for his mother. "No pain."

"Timmy, do you remember what happened?" The concern that his mother had was palpable and Gibbs just knew that it ran deeper than just his physical pain; she was worried about her son's mental state as well.

Tim's eyes narrowed momentarily as he remembered pieces of what had happened. Gibbs watched as the young man he'd come to be able to read very well pushed down his feelings and offered a small smile that didn't reach his glassy eyes.

"D...don't worry...bout m..me. I'm...kay..." Tim trailed off as his eyes closed completely and medication and exhaustion finally got the better of him. Once he was asleep, Gibbs watched as the nurse came over and took the readings from his machines. With a frown, she pulled out an oxygen mask and placed it gently over Tim's face.

"What is that for? What's wrong with him?" Gibbs looked at Angela as she asked the question and saw nothing but sheer terror in her eyes.

"You must be Tim's mother. I'm Sophie, Tim's nurse for the evening. Don't worry, his oxygen levels are a little low and we need to bring them up. This is the best way." At Angela's stifled sob she walked round and pulled the woman into a hug. "It's okay. Given what he's been through, he's doing exceptionally well."

"He...he is?"

"He really is. We've got him on some pretty strong meds at the moment, so he'll be in and out. Why don't you go and get some rest."

"No. I'm fine, Gibbs can you go and..."

"Angela." He said softly. "Why don't you go and tell everyone that he woke up and knows we're here for him, but can't stay awake yet."

"I can't. I don't want to leave him." She replied with a tired frown.

"He won't be alone. Go. Get something to eat and get some rest." Gibbs ordered softly and ushered the woman out of the room. With a nod, she stood up and glanced at Gibbs before moving towards him and wrapping her arms around him. "Tim would want you to stay rested. He needs you to take care of yourself."

"Thank you." The sentiment was short, and succinct, but it was loaded with sincerity.

"Anytime. These kids might not be mine by blood, but they're all my own."

Angela pulled away with a tear in her eye and grasped his hand. "My Tim has always seen you as his second father. Jake often jokes that he shares his boy, but he doesn't mind. We like the fact that someone is there to watch over him."

"He'll always have that. Now go on, go. Tell everyone that the damn tube's gone and he's been talking a little bit, but needs his sleep." She squeezed his hand and left the room leaving Gibbs with Tim. The Boss sat down in the chair and leaned forward so that he was leaning on his knees with his elbows. A small movement from Tim drew his attention. "You awake, McGee?"

"Boss?"

"Okay, then. You wanna tell me how you're really feeling?" Gibbs watched at Tim's head slowly moved towards the voice and he could see the glassy cloudiness that came from Tim waking up and the cocktail of medication he was on to control the pain.

Although Tim should have been completely out and peacefully sleeping, he was obviously not only awake, but was struggling with wrapping his head around where he was and why. In true testament to his strength of character, he did keep trying. "Wha...M'good."

"That's crap, Tim and we both know it." Gibbs attempted to solicit some genuine answers before the young man had time to formulate any ideas of hiding how he was really doing.

Tim's brow furrowed into a confused frown before he shook his head. He groaned and winced as pain lanced through his skull and pre-empted his other injuries into making themselves known. Gibbs shot to his feet and leaned over his agent as he pressed the call button.

"Easy McGee. The pain meds wearing off?"

"H...hurts." Tim said weakly.

"I know..." The nurse bustled over and glanced at Gibbs briefly before turning to her patient. "His meds are wearing off." He said succinctly.

"Already? Alright, Agent McGee. I'm going to speak to you doctor. I'll be right back." She hurried away from the bed.

"Boss...som... pain. T...too strong." Gibbs frowned briefly before being shaken by a bone-shattering scream. His head snapped up to see a woman sobbing heavily being guided away from a curtained off area of the ICU unit. When he looked back at his Agent, he could see the beginnings of panic when it dawned on him that what he was seeing was what Angela had tried to explain. Tim was becoming overloaded with all of the painful emotions he was feeling and knew that the stress from all of the emotional torture going on starting to set in...and none of it was his own!

"Damn it! McGee, I thought it was only family emotions that you felt!" He exclaimed harshly before turning his attention back to Tim fully. He gently placed his hands on Tim's cheeks and waited for Tim's tightly shut eyes to track him. "You feeling their pain, McGee?"

"Yes." Was the quite reply and Gibbs winched at how pinched and quite it was.

"Alright..."

"We're going to set you up with a morphine pump, Agent McGee. You'll be able to control your pain yourself that way." The nurse interrupted and started to add the pump to the catheter in Tim's hand.

"Nurse..."

"Wallis, Sir." She replied with a soft smile.

"Nurse Wallis. Listen, we need to move him to a private room." Gibbs requested and watched as the nurse frowned.

"Sir, ICU patients need a lot of care. We keep the unit like this because it's easier for us to treat the patients and respond to their needs as and when they have them. If he's in a room, we won't be able to monitor him as well."

"It's a long story, but right now, this is doing him more harm than good."

"Listen to him, Marie." Brad's voice traveled across to them. "I'll explain later but for now we need him somewhere quiet."

The nurse nods at Brad and smiles warmly. "Yes, doctor. Okay, I think we're done here. I've just pushed the button for you, Agent McGee, So the pain meds will take effect soon. If you need anymore, then just press the button, but be aware that it won't administer if you've reached the maximum in the recommended time."

"Than...thanks." Tim stuttered and closed his eyes. A lone tear tracked down his face and Brad watched with a broken heart as Gibbs stepped forward to wipe it away with his thumb.

"Gibbs, what's going on?" he asked gently.

"Grieving family." Gibbs nodded in the direction of the curtained of area and shook his head. "It's not supposed to work this way."

"I know. I've been talking to Angela about it all. The only thing I can come up with is the head injury and the fact that McGee's emotions are all over the place. It's opened the door for other people's feelings."

"Then we need to get him outta here, Brad. Now!"

"Dad." Sarah's voice was quiet and pained. Jacob glanced down at his daughter and tightened the arm he had wrapped around her. She had soon replaced her mother after Angela had left to go and see Tim, and was currently laying on her father's bed, with her head resting on his shoulder and her arm stretched over his stomach.

"Yes, sweetheart."

"Why?" She asked and he felt her chest buck against his side and knew that she was fighting to hold back the tears that he'd seen lingering just beneath the surface.

"Oh, Honey. Why what?"

"Why us? Why Tim? Why...Why did we have to suffer?" She asked and finally let go of the tentative tears that she had been trying to hold back. "Everyone was happy, Dad. Our home..."

"Shh. Sarah, it's gonna be okay. We're all alive. Sure we've got some healing to do, but we have each other."

"And you have us as well, my dear." Duck interjected and smiled warmly at Jacob. "Young Timothy comes with another family my dear. Once that is extended to the family he already has."

"Ducky?" Jacob asked with confusion.

"Ahh, well it's like this. Jethro has always been Timothy's second father...as you well know young man." Ducky admonished gently. "And his team have soon become his siblings. Unofficially of course, but Timothy has always thought of Anthony and Ziva as his brother and sister. They argue like it anyway."

"Hey! We don't argue, we just banter a lot. And yeah, McGoo is the brother I never had. Our little Ninja chick became one of the family too. Why else would we rescue her cute little butt from Somalia." Tony smirked at Ziva and saw her eyes narrow dangerously.

"I will take my cute little butt over your hairy one."

Jacob laughed loudly. "I see what you mean. So, where do you and Abby fit in?" He asked, grateful that the distraction had worked enough to calm Sarah down. He knew the answers she sought were going to be difficult to answer and wanted time to think about how to answer them.

"Well, I suppose I'm the grandfather of the operation. I haven't really ever thought about it but given my age..."

"Do not let that fool you, Mr. McGee. He is sprightlier than most people are his age. What do they say...?" she questioned. "Oh, He is a spring cock. Yes?"

Even Sarah couldn't help the giggles that overcame her at that comment.

"Hmm, well Ziva. If I didn't know you better, I would be quite offended at that comment." Ducky chuckled and shook his head. "Anthony, Abigail. Maybe one of you two could correct her."

"Chicken, Ziva." Abby answered through her laugh. "Cock is more offensive because it means..."

"Male chicken, Abigail."

"Yeah, Ducky. That's exactly what it means." Tony added through a snort and everyone in the room broke down in fits of giggles. Jacob felt Sarah relax in his arms and could totally understand why his Son loved these people.

"You feel better?" He asked her gently.

"For now." She replied before sitting up and grasping her father's hand. "So, Abby. Where does that leave you?"

"Me?" Abby questioned and blushed. "Oh, um...guess I can't be the sister given that I and Tim...well we..."

"Shared a coffin?" Tony supplied with a smirk which soon faded when Ziva and Abby's and connected with the back of his head. "Hey! How many times? Only the boss gets that privilege."

"Whatever. Anyway, I guess I'm the sister, but Tim and I have something special." Abby finished. "Oh and then there's our favorite gremlin."

"Palmer." Tony and Ziva said in unison.

"Yeah, he's our cousin of sorts. He never seems to let himself into the gang."

"Maybe that is because you all scare him." Ducky supplied. "Bless his heart; he's looking after Jethro as we speak."

The door opened and Angela walked in looking more tired and worn down than she had when she'd left.

"Angela? Baby what's wrong?" Jacob extended his hand and felt her cool fingers slip into it.

"Nothing. He's awake and they've removed the ventilator. Well, when I say he's awake, I mean, he woke up but fell asleep again."

"How is he?" Sarah asked tentatively.

"He's not so good, but they are hopeful that he'll recover well enough. Don't worry, Tim's a fighter. That's something I am sure of." Her cell phone rang at that moment and she glanced at the display. "It's Jethro...Hello?" She answered her cell and sat down on the edge of the bed.

_"Angela, We're moving Tim to a private room."_

"What? Why?" Everyone's eyes flew towards Angela at the sound of her panicked tone.

_"Another family lost their child and he started to feel their grief. He started to panic because of everything he was picking up from them. I thought you said this telempathy only worked with people he was close too?"_

Angela thought back to the time when Tim had crashed his car and remembered the time in hospital directly after the accident. "Oh no! I should have remembered! How could I forget?"

_"Forget what? Angela what's goin' on here?"_

"It gets worse when he's vulnerable. It's weak when he's strongest and I always suspected that it was because he could suppress everyone's emotions; only let himself feel the people that he loves because he needs that connection. Jethro, the last time this happened was after the car accident."

_"Ok. What can we do?"_

Angela frowned knowing that there was precious little that they could do but give him the space he needed to filter out these emotions. "Get him moved quickly. Please! There's too much trauma in the hospital and it's mostly centered there. It'll get easier once he's moved, just please. Do it quickly."

_"He's being moved now. I'll stay with him."_

"Thank you, Jethro. I'll be there soon." The phone went dead and Angela found herself clutching at her heart as if to stop it from shattering.

"Angela? Talk to me, Honey." Jacob said softly from his bed and when she looked up she could see the lines of worry around the soft, large green eyes that the McGee men seemed to have.

"Jake, you remember when he started to feel everything after the car accident?"

"Sweet Jesus. Yeah, I do, Honey. It wasn't pretty for a few weeks." Jacob replied and shook his head. "It damn near broke my boy."

Angela nodded and turned to face the people in the room. "It's happening again. Please, I need you all to help him. It took us all we had to get him back on track last time. He needs us all at the moment."

"Help with what, my dear?" Ducky asked gently and knelt down in front of her.

"Tim feels everyone's emotions right now. The next few weeks are going to be tough because his defenses are low. I hate to say this, but if we don't get them in check, then the mix of the trauma he's suffered and the guilt that we all know he'll feel for what happened will just take over. He won't be able to filter out both the deep emotions that run in all of us and the emotions from people here in the hospital." She broke off and took a deep shuddering breath while she composed herself. She turned to her husband and shook her head. "Jake, this might just well kill him this time."

"Angela...honey, listen to me. We won't let it, okay? We will _not_ let this beat him again."

Silence reined briefly in the room as everyone took in what had been said. The only sounds to be heard were the sniffles coming from the girls after a few seconds as the news sunk in. Tony shook his head and moved to put his hand on Angela's shoulder.

"Not gonna happen! If Probie can't help get himself outta this, then we're gonna do what we can to get him through!"


	32. Chapter 31

_******We are so so sorry about the long wait for this and hope you're still with us :)**_

* * *

_**2 Weeks Later...**_

The decision to discharge Tim out of the hospital hadn't been taken lightly and it was after some careful deliberation, that everyone had agreed that it would be best for Tim. Ducky, God bless his heart, had insisted that Tim go back to his house because there was already medical equipment there that could be used courtesy of the care that his mother had warranted. Of course, there was a situation that pretty much tipped the scales for them and it was only when Brad told them that he'd taken 3 weeks of his leave time so that he could help Ducky out, that they decided that it was better all round for Tim to get out of there.

Tony glanced over at the bed and sighed heavily. The past couple of weeks had been rough, on everyone but no one seemed to have gone through the wringer more than his Probie had. The first week had been horrendous what with the different turbulent emotions that rolled off people at Bethesda and the fact that Tim's family and friends were all battling their own demons about what had happened. Tony tore his gaze away and sat back to carry on watching his movie on the small portable DVD player that he had bought along so that he didn't disturb the man that had long ago settled into the role of being his little brother. He had purposely chosen a comedy; one that would help lift his mood so that his emotions weren't so apparent and didn't cause any problems whilst he sat there and kept watch.

"Tony?" Tim's quiet, sleep slurred voice carried across the room. Tony had the sense to only put one headphone in his left ear, leaving the other one free to listen out in case Tim needed him. He smiled as he looked over to the bed and pulled it out of his ear.

"Good morning, McSleepy. You've been out for a while, you want some water?" Tim nodded and watched as Tony grabbed the water and moved to help him sit up. "Hey, McGee. You want your meds?"

"Um..." Tim winced slightly as his injuries made themselves known and nodded. "Yeah, might be a good idea. Where is everyone?"

"Ducky and Ziva are in the yard tossing a ball for the mutt. Brad and Sarah are both torturing your dad with today's daily check stroke PT session and the boss has taken your mom out to get some groceries because she keeps saying we need good home cooked food. Abby's gone back to the lab because Vance wants her to run something urgently but she'll be back as soon as that's done..." He looked Tim over more closely and noticed the thin sheen of sweat that slicked his pale face. "You shouldn't be here, McGee. You're not ready to be out of the hospital."

"Hey, no catheter and I don't need the IV anymore. I can get up to use the bathroom as soon as I can use the crutches. Come on, Tony I'm ready!" Tim protested with a weak smile. "It's better this way. Trust me. Feeling everyone's emotions is hard. It's harder than anything I've ever done and right now I can't...I can't stop them." Tim looked down at the bedspread at his admission and blushed.

"Well yeah! That's a given. You just don't look so good. What hurts, man? The knee? The shoulder? The ribs? The..."

"All of the above and my kidney's ache, The brace is uncomfortable and my back is aching through being in the same position or too long. But, all in all, Its better than it was." Tim had given up on hiding his physical pain from everyone after what happened in the hospital. "Look, I'm okay, Tony. Just medicate me and let me sleep."

Tony handed over Tim's medication and watched as he took them. "Tony, help me lay down please."

"Sure, Probie." Tony moved to the bed and supported Tim as he lay against the mound of pillows that supported his healing body. Tim was out like a light soon after and Tony couldn't do anything but watch his friends face as he slept peacefully. He thought back to the time in hospital and sighed heavily.

_**Three days ago...**_

_Tony stood by the door and sighed heavily at Gibbs and Angela sitting there talking to Tim. For all intent purposes, Tim looked as though everything was okay in front of his parents and Tony got that he just didn't want to hurt the anymore. Truth be told, That worried Tony and he thought back to the times at Bethesda, that Tim had sat there on his own practically sobbing with the onslaught of emotions that he picked up from everyone else. It was heartbreaking to see and no matter what Tony did, he was at a complete loss as to how to help his friend._

_"Tony." Ziva's quiet voice caught him by surprise and he jumped. "I am sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."_

_"You didn't. He's not okay, Zee. Why is he being like this."_

_"Because he doesn't want anyone to worry. He remembers what happened after the crash and knows how hard it was for everyone to see." Tony turned and gazed at Ziva with a frown. "How do you know that?"_

_"I talked to him last night before I left. There was a family next door who'd just lost their son and Tim was overcome by grief. Do not mention that to him though, DiNozzo. He will not take kindly to me gos...gos...what is the word?" Tony smiled gently and shook his head._

_"You're not gossiping. You're just worried about your friend." He laid his hand on her shoulder. "I won't say anything, I promise. I came back last night after you'd all gone. He wasn't good Zee. The mother...damn she was in hysterics."_

_"I saw you come in. I managed to calm him down enough to sleep...or at least I thought he had gone to sleep. Obviously I was wrong." Ziva admitted sadly._

_"He's gotten real good at covering. I spent all night with him and it didn't get much better."_

_Ziva nodded sadly and turned back to the hospital room. "We should go and see how he is doing. Yes?"_

_"Yeah. Zee...Look, I'm worried about him. It's not the first time I've seen that haunted look in his eyes and I know that he's got problems of his own that he needs to deal with. He can't do that when he's got the whole of Bethesda laying on their issues as well."_

_"What do you suggest, Tony?" Ziva asked gently. "He needs medical attention and the only place he can get that right now, is here."_

_"I'm not so sure that's true right now." Tony replied before making his way back into the room. "Hey, McGoo. Looking good, Man. So, when can you finally break free of this joint?"_

_**Present time...**_

"DiNozzo." Tony glanced up and looked towards the door. Gibbs stood there with two mugs of coffee and a frown. "You alright?"

"Yeah, Boss. I was just thinking about when Tim was in the hospital." Gibbs nodded once before shirking his head to the side once to give the signal for Tony to follow him out. With a heavy sigh, Tony stood up and walked out into the landing. "What's up, Boss?"

"What's on your mind? Get it out now because you know McGee will pick up on it."

Tony huffed out a breath and ran his hand through his already mussed up hair. "How did you know?"

"Know what?" Gibbs spat out. "Tony, what is it you wanna know exactly because this isn't helping, McGee at all."

"You know what, Boss. Forget it! Just forget I said anything, okay?" Tony sidestepped past Gibbs but was stopped by his boss' hand clamping down on his shoulder.

"Tony. Hold it." Tony paused and turned back to Gibbs with Anger in his eyes. "Let's go for coffee. I need to get some for here anyway and Brad needs to come up to check over him."

"Yeah, Boss. That sounds like a good idea."

"C'mon then." Gibbs led him downstairs and paused at the kitchen momentarily so he could tell Angela where they were going. When he looked in, he was pleased to see that she had packed everything away, bar the groceries that she needed to make everyone dinner that night. "Angela, We're going out for coffee. You want me to bring anything back?"

Angela looked up at him and smiled warmly. "No thank you, Jethro. Just be back in time for dinner."

"Oh we'll be back." Tony snorted out a laugh. "You sure you don't want anything?"

"Tony, Go! I'm sure. You've been up there for hours so go spend time with your boss and have a chat."

Tony smiled at Angela and nodded. "I can do that."

Gibbs whistled once and started to move towards the door. Tony followed and the last thing he heard from the house was Angela shouting out to them that dinner would be on the table at 1800.

Gibbs pulled up outside his favorite coffee shop on base and cut the engine. With a sigh, he turned to Tony and cocked his head. "You wanna get coffee and sit on Tim's favorite bench?"

Tony smiled at the reference and nodded. "Sounds good, Boss. Never did figure out why he likes it there." His eyes automatically drifted to the bench as he said that.

"It's quiet." Gibb replied quietly and followed Tony's gaze. "I always wondered why he went down there and after talking to Angela I understand."

"Wanna fill me in?"

"He needs somewhere to go when things get too much. Somewhere quiet and away from the people he loves." All of a sudden, Tony understood completely.

"He normally filters everyone else out but doesn't with us. When we're stressed or upset, he comes out here to clear his mind of our emotions...damn it! Why didn't he tell us?"

Gibbs reached over at Tony's exclamation and administered one of his famous Gibbs slaps. "Hey! What the ..., Boss?"

"He didn't tell us, DiNozzo, because he was worried about what we'd think of him."

"You're kidding! We wouldn't think badly of him for that!" Tony's vehemence in that statement shook Gibbs slightly and he realized there and then, that despite all his teasing and his bluster, Tony genuinely cared for the Kid and wanted nothing more than to protect him.

"With everything you tease him about, how was he supposed to know that? He was scared, Tony. How would you feel? Angela's seen first had what this has done to Tim all his life and knows how people react. Can't blame him for protecting himself."

"Guess not. You want me to go in and get the coffee, Boss?" Tony asked and swiftly changed the subject so that he could focus more on what was really bothering him.

"Go on. You know what I drink." Gibbs felt a pang of guilt at what he'd said. After all, the teasing was good natured most of the time and Tim had soon started to retaliate to it all.

Tony smirked. "Sure do. Strong enough to make your toes curl and so the spoon stands up in it."

"Marines know good coffee. Go on, I'll be sitting over there." He signaled towards the bench and watched as Tony stepped out of the car.

He waited until Tony had made it inside the coffee shop and made his way over to the tranquil place so that he could have a couple of minutes of peace and quiet. Gibbs started to think about what had happened in the hospital and was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't hear Tony approach.

"Boss." Tony held out his coffee and sat down on the bench next to him. Gibbs accepted it with a nod of thanks and waited for Tony to settle in.

"So, what's on your mind?"

Tony sighed heavily and looked out over the river before sipping at his coffee. "I can see why he likes it out here. It's peaceful."

"Tony." Gibbs growled, hoping to rein this in and get Tony to talk so that he could make it back to Ducky's house soon. He watched as Tony averted his eyes down to the coffee cup he held and waited patiently, knowing that his senior agent would soon tell him what was playing on his mind.

"How did you know?"

"Know what, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked calmly.

"That it was a front. I mean, right before the...you know...Probie seemed to be doing okay. Nothing seemed to be getting to him."

"You knew."

"Yeah, but only because I couldn't sleep one night and went to see him. You know..."

"You do your best work at night." Gibbs jumped in. "Not work this time, Tony."

"I know. I thought I'd go sit with him for a while to see how he was doing. I know you're there some nights, but Angela practically marched you out of there to make you rest." Tony's voice got slightly more quiet at that and Gibbs frowned.

"I'd been there all day and Angela told me to get some rest. Tim told us he'd be okay."

"Not blaming you , Boss." Tony admitted and offered up a rueful smile.

"Didn't say you were."

"I know...anyway. When I got there, McGee was laying there with his face screwed up so tight that he had to be giving himself a headache. He didn't even realize I was there until I put my hand on his shoulder."

"He didn't feel you?" Gibbs asked knowing that Tony seeing that would have inspired some pretty strong emotions in him.

"No. I heard a lot of crying from outside though and from what I could make out the kid in the room next door had just passed away. The mother was damn near hysterical and Tim was picking up on that." Tony's voice tightened slightly and Gibbs did something so out of character that it was all he could do to not to flinch.

Once the initial shock of having Gibbs' arm wrapped around his shoulders wore off, Tony slumped slightly and shook his head. "I sat with him all night, Boss. I had to calm him and I'll be honest with ya now, it was the hardest thing I've ever had to do, outside of what happened with his family. I don't ever wanna see him go through something like that again, and there I was last night helping him deal with everyone else's problems. Every little thing that happened; every drama; every...you get the picture. Boss he felt them all."

"I know, Tony. He's getting there though."

"How'd you know?" Tony went back to the question he'd asked originally and sat there waiting for the Boss' answer.

"I just did. I can tell when there's something playing on any of your minds."

"How?" The question was asked with such an innocent naivety that Gibbs couldn't help but chuckle slightly.

"Your eye's DiNozzo. I can see it in your eyes." Tony gave a small smile and nodded.

"Windows to the soul."

"Something like that." Gibbs agreed.

"Never took you for the philosophical type, Boss." Gibbs shook his head at Tony's comment and smirked.

"I'm not. Never have been. All of you are pretty easy to read. Took me a while with Ziva, but you all wear your hearts on your sleeve. You just happen to think putting masks on hides it more than it actually does, DiNozzo."

Tony nodded and sipped at his coffee before standing up. "I'm gonna go get another one. You want one?"

"Sounds good. Go. Get the coffee and we'll make our way back." He watched Tony leave and sat back to look across the river. Tony was right, it was damn peaceful here and the fact that there was no traffic made the water calm and still. The sound of the water lapping seemed to soothe his troubled soul a little bit as he thought back to the days in the hospital.

_**Two days ago...**_

"_Okay honey. I'm going to get your dad back to Ducky's house. He's due for his meds and you know what he's like on pain killers." Angela bent down and kissed Tim's cheek. Gibbs watched as Tim's eyes glazed slightly before refocusing enough for him to nuzzle into his mom's ministrations._

_"Yeah, I remember. Pretty much like me and Sarah." Tim chuckled out, though to Gibbs it sounded as though it was forced._

_"None of you are very good at taking them, sweetie. At least you sleep, your dad and sister just go loopy."_

_"Bit like, Tony. He gets really weird on them too." Tim gave a wide yawn and winced._

_"What's wrong, Sweetie?" Angela asked with a worried tone. Gibbs could tell that the worry she was feeling was impacting on Tim because something in his eyes seemed to deaden slightly._

_"Nothing. Just jarred my shoulder when I yawned. I'm good, Momma." Angela looked at Tim and saw the smile he offered. It had been a long time since her boy had called her that and was something he only ever called her when he was being playful._

_"Momma? Timothy McGee, it's been a while since you've called me that."_

_"I know. I'm okay Mom, I promise."_

_"You sure? You seem to be doing better than you did when you had that car accident." Angela said and narrowed her eyes slightly at her son._

_"Mom, I was 16. I've got a few years experience of dealing with this under my belt now. Go on, go home. I think Dad's fallen asleep."_

_"He has." Gibbs agreed and leaned forward in his chair so that his elbows rested on his knees. "You sure you're okay, McGee?"_

_"I'm good, Boss." He turned his head to the side and offered a smile, but it was a smile that didn't reach his eyes. Gibbs could see the deadened pain that resided deep in his eyes and scrutinized him with a wary eye before returning the smile to encourage him._

_"Sure you are. Angela, you need help with Jake?" Gibbs said gently, hoping that he would be able to divert the attention away from Tim._

_"Um...You know, I think we'll be okay. If it comes to it I'll grab a wheelchair and roll him outta here."_

_"You will not!" Jake grumped as he sat up straighter in his chair. "I'll crutch my way out of here because, seriously, Honey? Your driving is terrible!" That comment earned him a gently smack to his shoulder as Angela affectionately chastised him._

_"There is nothing wrong with my driving and you know it Jacob McGee! Do not give you son fodder to use at a later date!"_

_Tim chuckled heartily at the exchange and turned to Gibbs. "They're always like that, Boss. It's kinda sweet..." He winked at his boss and started to whisper. "And Mom is a terrible driving a wheelchair. I remember that much from when I was 16."_

_Gibbs couldn't help but laugh, but it was short lived when a piercing scream came from the nurse's station. When he looked up, he could see Tim's face crumple for a split second before his façade was quickly slipped back into place._

_"Sounds like there something going on." Tim said softly. "Mom, you and Dad should go okay."_

_"Tim..." Jake stood up and put his arms through the crutches. "Son, you okay?"_

_"Huh?...Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Dad, take Mom home, you've been here all day."_

_Jake paused briefly before stooping down to kiss Tim on the forehead. "Alright. We'll be back tomorrow."_

_"I'll be here." Tim said with a smile and looked at his mom. "You get some rest, Mom. I know you're tired."_

_"I am. Between looking after your dad and Sarah, I'm beat. Ziva and Abby have taken her out and they're all staying at Ziva's. Something about a girlie night in."_

_"She's having nightmares again, isn't she?" Tim asked solemnly. "Don't lie to me, Momma. I can feel it when she comes in. They're troubling her again. After what she's just been through, it's not surprising."_

_Angela started to run her hands through his hair and could feel the tears starting to form in her eyes. "She is. Nothing we can't deal with and she's already started to speak to the Navy psychiatrist. She'll get over them."_

_With his good hand, Tim reached up and wiped away at the tears that had started to fall down his mother's face. "It's okay, Mom. She'll get over and she's got us to help her." Gibbs had no idea how Tim managed to keep his emotions in check the way he did, but knew that his mother's heartache had to be killing him. Gibbs noticed his voice waver slightly and knew right there and then, that the mask was in place._

_"I know, Sweetie. I know...Okay, we're going to head out. You take care and we'll be back first thing. Do you want us to bring you anything?"_

_"Can you bring me something to read?" Tim asked. "Something easy to hold ideally." He gestured down to his bound shoulder and blushed slightly._

_"I think we can find something, Honey. What about more music? I can take your IPod and load it with more songs if you want."_

_Gibbs smiled at the warm exchange and watched with interest. There was still something there despite Tim acting normally and the fact that Tim's voice had wavered slightly when talking about Sarah was proof of that. He knew and understood that, with all the emotional overload from the hospital patients around him, there had been no time to address the issue of how Tim was dealing with what had put him here in the first place and it was only the fact that kid was hiding behind his walls, that made Gibbs want to address this issue now. He knew that when the time came for Tim to fully face up to what he'd been through, it would be a huge hurdle and would be extremely tough. In all honesty, the fact that Tim had something to focus his energy on other than what had happened was a saving grace, but it had been emotionally hard on him. It gave him time to compartmentalize the issues so that they could be deal with it more privately, and in a calmer way._

_"I'm good. Thanks." Angela leaned down and gave him a kiss before saying her goodbyes. Once Jake followed suit, the two of them left for the night. Gibbs sat back in the chair and saw Tim's mask slip slightly as the emotions that flew around the hospital overwhelmed him._

_"Talk to me." he said gruffly and stood up to stand next to Tim. "McGee! Why?"_

_Tim shuddered slightly and shook his head. "Why what, Boss?"_

_Why are you hidin' this from your mother?"_

_"I'm not...Look, Boss I'm tired." Tim said and moved to grab the bed controls from where they lay at the side of his leg. Gibbs stood up and grabbed them so that the young man couldn't hide away from him._

_"Damn it, McGee! Tim, I can tell you're not okay, so how about you cut the crap and talk to me! Why are you doing this to yourself?" the boss barked at him with frustration._

_"Tony asked me the same thing last night..." Tim said absently and shook his head. "I can feel them all hurting, Boss. I just don't wanna make it worse for them. Especially since it's my fault in the first place!"_

_"So you suffer in silence. That's not the way to go about this you know?" Gibbs answered gently, though he didn't address Tim's admission of guilt because this really wasn't the time for that particular conversation._

_"What other way is there? What do you want me to do, admit that I can feel everyone's emotions and it's driving me crazy? Boss, I feel as if I'm on a rollercoaster and there's no end. I can feel everything from elation to grief and I have no idea how to deal with that." Tim admitted without hesitation. Now that the boss had managed to single handedly pull down his walls, he couldn't stop the words from spilling out._

_"You don't have to do it alone. That's what we're here for, let us help."_

_"You shouldn't have to!" Tim practically shouted before wincing as pain lanced through him._

_"MCGEE!" Gibbs waited until Tim had calmed down enough to turn to him. "Just calm down! Why don't you want us to help?"_

_"Because...Damn it! Mom, Dad and Sarah have their own problems to deal with. Ones I'm responsible for! They say they're okay, but I can feel it whenever they're near. They need to help themselves before they start to worry about me. You and the guys are all trying to wrap your heads around it all and even though I know you're all there for It's a still a lot to take in and you shouldn't have to have that on your shoulders!"_

_"Is that what you think? Tim, I'm not goin' anywhere and neither are your team and family. If you need help, then let us help. You got that?" Gibbs instructed firmly._

_Tim glanced away and started to gaze out of the window. Gibbs reached out and gently gave Tim a soft headslap. "I said, You got that?"_

_"Got it, Boss." Tim answered quietly... Too quietly._

_"But?" the older man pushed relentlessly while he had the chance._

_"But...my family. What's going to happen? They're all hurting and there's nothing I can do to stop it. How can I expect them to help me when they're dealing with their own problems? I know it's my fault and can't understand why they're even speaking to me after what they went through because of what I did!"_

_"Let us worry about them. You just concentrate on getting yourself better." Again, Gibbs left the guilt that Tim was feeling alone. Instead, he focused on the more immediate issues that Tim was dealing with and decided to deal with the emotional overload from everyone around him._

_Realizing Tim had gone extremely quiet all of a sudden, he looked over at him and frowned. Gibbs watched as Tim's face crumpled slightly and he fought back the tears. "What is it?"_

_"Anger. Someone's angry, boss. It'll pass..." He looked Gibbs directly in the eye and held out his right hand. Gibbs took it without question and held on tightly. "Boss...Stay? Please. I don't want to be alone tonight."_

_"I'll stay. You need to get some rest though McGee." Tim nodded and let his eyes slide shut knowing that Gibbs would be there for him and would help him through whatever demons would attack him that night._

_**Present day...**_

"Boss?" Gibbs blinked once and turned to face Tony. His gut clenched briefly when he saw the worried look in his eyes. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, DiNozzo. Just thinking."

"About?" Tony asked and waited for Gibbs to stand up so that they could go to the car.

"Doesn't' matter. That for Ti..." Gibbs' phone rang and he handed Tony his coffee so he could answer it. "Yeah, Gibbs."

_"Gibbs, I thought I'd ring and give you the news."_Gibbs cringed and sucked in a deep, cleansing breath.

"Last time you said that, Andy escaped." He said through clenched teeth. "What's happened now?"

"_Nothing bad, but Jason has just been found in his cell. Gibbs, he's committed suicide. He's dead."_


	33. Chapter 32

"_Nothing bad, but Jason has just been found in his cell. Gibbs, he's committed suicide. He's dead."_

"Damn it Leon! How did this happen?" Gibbs barked question had Tony eyeing him suspiciously. "Your right about one thing, and that it's good but this is going to start a sh..."

_"Let me worry about that, Gibbs. You worry about talking to your boy and getting him back up on his feet."_

Gibbs huffed out a laugh at Vance's interruption but knew that he was right. The politics didn't really worry him, what worried him was how Tim was gonna take it.

"I'll go talk to McGee now, Leon. Jim and Anna are on their way over now so I'll let Jim know. I don't know how many problems he's gonna face with Andy and his Captain so I wanna talk to him anyway."

"_I've had Pam fielding calls from Jim's unit all day. I can tell you that his Captain is pissed beyond all reason at having IA crawling over his affairs. I hate to say it, Gibbs, but Jim's going to be investigated so it might be worth giving him the heads up."_

With a heavy sigh, Gibbs rubbed his hand over his tired eyes and looked over at Tony. "I'll talk to him." With that, he closed his phone abruptly before turning to look at his senior agent and field whatever questions the younger man was sure to have.

"Boss?"

"Jason killed himself and Jim's unit has the IA crawling up their asses. I need to go talk to McGee." Gibbs snatched up the fresh coffee that Tony had bought and stormed out leaving Tony with no other option but to grab the tray of drinks he'd just carried back to the bench and hightail it after the boss.

"Woah, what? Boss, you can't be serious. Jason's committed suicide in a maximum security psych unit and Jim's unit's being investigated? What the hell?...hey, Boss wait up!" Tony was practically running to keep up with Gibbs as he strode towards the car. Gibbs stopped and waited for Tony to catch up before walking again.

"DiNozzo! I don't know how McGee is gonna take this, so let me take the lead, okay? You know what he's like and I don't want him feeling guilty for what that bastard did."

Guilty? Why would..."I don't think he'll be feeling guilty, Boss. C'mon, the guy kidnaps his family, beats and tortures them and then does the same to McGee!"

"Ya think so, DiNozzo? You know what he's like and he's still feeling everyone's emotions. He's not doing too good at the moment so I'm not gonna let this get the better of him." Gibbs hit the button that unlocked the car and got in before slamming the door shut. Once the engine was on, Tony saw him open the window and look out at him before Gibbs' shout cut through his thoughts. "Get in the damn car!"

Tony shook himself out of his thoughts and rushed to the passenger side. He didn't have long to try and secure the tray of drinks before Gibbs was speeding off so that he could talk to Tim.

**********  
"Izzy, be careful of your Uncle Tim, Honey." Anna laughed lightly as the toddler tried to reach out to Tim. "And don't you dare, mister! You have a back brace and sore wrists so you can just put your arms down right this instant."

Tim looked at Anna with an amused look on his face and shook his head. "I can cuddle my niece, Anna. Come on, just let me hold her. She's tiny so what damage can she do?"

"She's heavier than she looks. Okay, look if you want a cuddle, then I'll put her on the bed next to you. But be careful, Tim because I won't have you hurting yourself."

Tim frowned and cocked his head slightly. "You're worried."

"What?...Damn, I forgot about your little telempathy thing you have going on. Yeah, I'm worried; about you! You scared us all."

With a shake of his head, Tim narrowed his eyes at her. "There's something else. Spill, Anna. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Come on, I don't want to do this right now and you have to hug this little mon..."

"Anna! Jeez, just tell me okay!" Tim yelled out and watched as Anna's face crumpled. She moved Isabelle onto the bed next to her cousin and watched as the little girl crawled up next to him and prodded the hard brace carefully. Tim smiled at the little girl pulled her up into his lap. "Hey there Izzy-belle. How's my favorite little girl?"

"Tim! No!..."

"It's okay, Anna. Seriously, you all need to stop worrying so much. Don't skirt the issue. What's really wrong."

Anna finally let go of the breath that she'd unconsciously been holding and shook her head. "Jim's captain rang him earlier and their IA want to talk to him. They said that because he was Andy's partner, he's being investigated."

It took Tim a few minutes to process the information and once he had, he looked her dead in the eye and pointed his finger towards her. "You tell them to contact me! Jesus, I won't let them rake him over the coals for something his partner did! Andy got round everyone and deceived a lot of people. What I'd be more interested in knowing is how the hell he managed to do that!"

"Calm down, McGee!" Gibbs entered the room and gently took Izzy away from his youngest agent. "Hey sweetheart, how about you go with your mom while I talk to your Uncle Tim?" He gave a small smile when the little girl reached out and poked him in the nose. "Hey, what's that for?"

"Sorry, Gi...Jethro. I'll take her into the living room now." Anna stood up and reached out for her daughter. "Come on, baby. Let's go see your Auntie Angela." Isabelle held out her hands and let her mother take her gently away from Gibbs. The older man smiled at Anna and watched as she left the room before closing the door behind her.

"Hey, Boss. Is that for me?" Tim nodded briefly towards the second cup of coffee that Gibbs had set down on the sideboard and tried to scoot back on the bed. He hissed as pain lanced through his knee and back. "Urgh..I hate this."

Gibbs frown deepened as his surprise at Tim's unusual show of emotion lanced through him. Before he picked up the drink that Tony had bought for his probie, he glanced at his watch. "You take your meds?"

Tim nodded and rested his head back on the pillow. "Yeah...wait, what time is it?"

"Eighteen hundred." Gibb replied and walked over to hand Tim the coffee.

"Then no." Tim reached out for the drink and rested it against his brace. "I'm probably due. Explains the pain at least because last time I took them was when Tony gave me some."

"We've been gone for a couple of hours Tony gave you them a couple before that. McGee, you need to tell us when you need them." Gibbs growled out.

"I slept for a while, Boss and then Anna turned up with Izzy. I was talking to them so I forgot about the pain. Come on, it's not that bad and I can take my next dose now." Tim paused briefly and sipped at his drink. "Anyway, you were all busy. Tea?"

Gibbs nodded his head towards the cup as he reached out and grabbed the pill bottles from the nightstand "DiNozzo thought it would do you good. Coffee isn't good for you right now. Ducky would skin us both alive."

"I'll add that to the list." The joke made Gibbs smile wanly and Tim watched as his boss shook the pills out of the bottle before he continued on. "You know, you all suck at keeping things to yourself. I know what's wrong with Anna, but you? What's on your mind, Boss and don't lie because I can seriously read you like a book."

A short laugh escaped the older man as he handed over the pills and replaced the tea with a bottle of water so Tim could take them. He had to admit that the team had done a good job of making sure this room was comfortable and thought back to the day before his agent was released from hospital. "You okay in here?" He asked as he worked to hide his shock at Tim's new forthright way of talking to him. Where had the bashful agent gone?

The question confused Tim and he couldn't figure out what it was that Gibbs wanted. He settled for nodding.

"Tony and Ziva bought the TV over and Abbs raided your DVD's. You wanna watch them, you let us know and we'll sort it out." For whatever reason, Gibbs was skirting the issues and Tim found it disconcerting to say the least The boss never did this and the fact that he knew that there was something lurking deep in the depths of Gibbs mind shook him.

"I know. Haven't really been in a fit state to watch it though because the meds knock me out. Boss, come on. Talk to me , please? You can't hide it and you know it so you might as well get it over with."

With a sigh, Gibbs decided that his usual direct route would be best and dove in head first. "Jason was found dead in his room earlier on today."

Tim nodded and felt a wave of relief wash over him; not just his own, but Gibbs' as well, as the boss relieved himself of the burden holding this information in had been. It was strange, but the one thing that the older man obviously hadn't actually realized yet, was that Tim knew him better than he thought and knew that lurking behind that gruffness laid a very private and emotional person.

"Is it wrong to say 'I'm relieved'?" Tim asked quietly. "I mean, sure I want to know how he managed that being where he was, but he can't hurt anyone else now."

Gibbs leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees as he nursed he coffee cup in his hands. "Talk to me."

That one statement; the order of all orders was one that Tim wasn't ready to deal with yet and as he lay there, he started feeling the muzzy pull of the medication dragging him down. "Bout what?"

"You think you can read me? Well you can, I'll give you that but I can read you too, McGee and I know you better than you think. Talk to me."

Tim's eyes widened slightly at the words that he knew were true and before the meds could completely kick his ass, he started talking. "Boss, it's not that I'm heartless, it's just the that with everything he inflicted on my family, I'm not sure I can be forgiving of that. Sure, I probably hurt him with that interview, but the kid was wrong and what he did to the people that I love, was even more wrong. I can't for...forgive that." Tim yawned and had to fight against his drooping eyelids. Gibbs nodded and reached over to take the tea that Tim had taken back after taking his meds, before it tipped over.

"Yeah, sure, McGee. I get that. Listen, when you're ready to talk, you know where I am."

"K, Boss." Was Tim's sleep slurred reply as the medication and exhaustion won out and dragged him under once again.

Tony made his way into the kitchen and handed Angela a large hot chocolate. Before she could reply, he smiled at her warmly and moved to help her with the dishes that she'd put in the sink. "Figured you'd like it so I thought I'd treat you."

The woman grinned and shook her head. "How do you boys know? Tim said you were intuitive and as much as you pick on him, he really does think the world of you."

That statement left Tony speechless and he stood there, stock still holding a soapy pan in his hands. Picking on the Probie? He didn't really think it could be classed as something as mild as that but he did like to razz the poor kid something fierce. He was pulled out of his thoughts by a gentle hand on his arm.

"Tony, don't take what I say to heart. Tim thinks of you like a brother and I've seen Sarah and him both go at it on more than one occasion. It was meant as a compliment in a roundabout kind of way." Angela smiled and took the pan out of Tony's hands. "Go on. Go and talk to Ziva and Abby, they're in the living room with Jacob watching an old movie."

Tony's eyes lit up at the mention of a movie and he found himself being bustled out of the kitchen. He glanced towards the room that Tim was in and found himself migrating towards the door that was slightly open. He looked in and saw the boss sitting there watching Tim intently as he slept once again and with sigh, he pushed the door open and poked his head in enough so that Gibbs knew he was there.

"Boss." He whispered and saw Gibbs' head shoot up to look at him. "You okay?"

The older man nodded and stood up so that he could talk to him outside. Once the door had been closed, Gibbs looked at Tony with a stern expression and told him what was on his mind.

"Tony, I want you to get Andy's records together. There's something not right here and I wanna know exactly what it is."

"Gut?"

"Something like that. Tomorrow, you and Ziva go into the office and see what you can find."

Tony nodded and turned away to walk into the living room to talk to Ziva. He was stopped by Gibbs' voice whispering across to him.

"Keep it under your hat, DiNozzo. I don't want any comeback from this."

"Sure, Boss." Tony replied and carried on. Once in the living room, he saw Jim sitting there with his wife and daughter whilst Jacob sat talking happily to Abby and Ziva. He plastered on his best award winning smile and sat down next to the Goth as she talked happily about Tim's time at NCIS.

"Hey, Abbs. You might not want to give too much away about Tim. You know how private he is."

"Tony!" Abby said and lightly punched him in the arm. "We were just talking!"

With an affronted ouch, Tony rubbed his arm and looked around the room. For the first time in ages everyone looked comfortable and relaxed and even Jacob had practically melted in the couch, sitting there with a contented smile in his face. "How's the leg?"

"It's doing okay. There's a way to go yet but at least we can finally move forward." Jacob paused briefly and gazed at Tony. "So, what's happening now? I mean there's got to be something going on because Gibbs looked about ready to kill someone."

The senior agent cringed hoping that the boss storming in had gone un-noticed. Obviously, that was not the case as the older man's mood stretched through the house. "Geckler killed himself." Tony admitted and glanced down at his hands. He wasn't expecting Jacob's reaction though and had to do a double take.

"Good."

"Huh...what?" Tony gaped.

"Good. That bastard can't hurt my family anymore and hopefully Tim can move on now. I hoped that the boy would get help, but deep down I knew that there was no chance of him getting over it. He held a grudge that festered and that's something you don't forget easily." Jacobs words cut through the shocked silence that had descended on the room and Tony found himself agreeing wholeheartedly with what was said.

"Yeah. Zee, boss wants us in the office first thing tomorrow. I'll pick you up and we'll head over there." Ziva cocked her head slightly and narrowed her eyes.

"Why? We are not expected in tomorrow."

"Nope." Tony admitted and nodded briefly to the door. As he stood up, Jacob glared at him briefly before sending him a knowing smile.

"Gibbs wants you to check up on Andy doesn't he?" with a wry snort, Tony sat back down. "Let me guess, this has something to do with the IA checking out Jim."

Anna's fingers laced through her husband's as he stiffened slightly. "It's okay, honey. They're trying to help."

"I know, sweetheart. It's just...damn it, Andy was my best friend. Tony, you need anything from me, you let me know. My family is safe now so my career isn't important. What is important, is that you find out what it is he was up too and what link he had to Jason." Jim stood up and started to make his way out of the room.

"Jim, sit!" Jacob ordered and saw Jim's shoulders slump slightly before he turned and took his place with Anna once again. "We know they were best friends; had been since they were kids. We also know that Jason used to go round to Andy's parents to escape his own. What more do you want, Tony?"

Tony sighed and rubbed his hand over his eyes. " I dunno. There's something that we're missing...or at least the boss thinks so. He screwed his career for a reason and I guess the boss wants to know what that reason is."

"Then we shall find out why tomorrow." Ziva said sharply. "I for one will not let that Ben Zonah do any more damage." The Hebrew swear word made Tony smile because after all these years, he'd finally got her to tell him what they meant.

"Hebrew cursing. Only our favorite ninja chick." He said and shook his head. "We'll do what we can."

The room went quiet once again as they all sat there lost in their thoughts. It wasn't until Angela called them all for dinner, that they finally pulled themselves out of the haze so as not to worry her.

***********  
Andy sat there in his cell fuming at the news he'd received. The state had decided that rather than send him to the max security looney tunes asylum with Jason, they'd send him to prison where some of the guys he'd arrested were serving their time. Damned justice? Not as far as he was concerned.

He sat there looking at the cold, grey walls and felt his mind whirring with grief and anger. How dare Jason take the cowardly way out! After everything that they'd been through and planned that selfish bastard had left him to take the fall whilst he resided in the seventh circle of hell.

"It better be hot down there Jason, because you need to suffer as much I I'm gonna." He muttered and started pacing. Because of his position as a police officer in a past life, it was deemed necessary to give him his own cell which was the only saving grace in all this. "Why? What possessed you? Man, you had it cushy. At least your not in this freaking HELL HOLE!"

The screamed latter part of his statement bought the guards to his bars and it was all he could do not to stand there insulting them and their smug ass faces. _They stand there looking so righteous and yet they know nothing. They are no better, accepting bribes and making sure the black market thrived in this place_. They were no better than the prisoners that they watched. "How's it going Bates? Still keeping that drugs trade going?"

Bates snarled and snapped his baton against the bars. Andy didn't flinch and stood there staring him out. "I'd keep that acid tongue to yourself boy. You never know what might happen in this place."

"Threats? Hmm, now that's interesting. Is there something I can do for you or are you just here to try and intimidate me?" Andy watched as Bates' eyes narrowed dangerously. "Ahh, I see. Well, you don't scare me, but I'm sure you'll be telling your friends that you managed too anyway. Thanks for stopping by though. It's been a _pleasure_."

"Sarcasm will get you nothing but a damn beating, boy." Bates threatened and snarled before schooling his expression. "You've got a visitor and he paid good money to be here right now."

Bribery. That's what it boiled down too in this place and Andy simply stood there waiting for him to continue.

"I'll show him in shall I?" Bates moved out of sight briefly before bringing back the visitor that he'd told him about. Andy pulled in a breath as Tom Geckler appeared at the other side of the bars. The guard nodded once and unlocked his cell to allow the man to enter before locking the door and leaving them alone.

"What are you doing here?" Andy snarled and sat down heavily on his bunk. "Here to gloat?"

"Gloat? No. I've lost one son, and I wanted to see how you were doing. I know he pushed you into this, so I want you to go through what happened."

Andy sighed heavily and slumped where he sat. With shuddering breath he gazed up at the man who stood before him before finally standing to give him a hug.

"It's good to see you, but I don't think even you could help me now."

Tom returned the embrace and stepped back to chuck Andy under the chin. "I can help you son, if you'll let me."

Andy's face crumpled as he broke down and clung on to Tom. Between sobs, his mantra echoed off the walls as his tenuous hold on his emotions broke completely.

"Please help me. God help me...Dad, I need your help...Dad..."


	34. Chapter 33

"Son, I'm not sure what we can do here. Let's face it, you're in a world of trouble that's gonna be difficult to get out of. Andy..." Tom Geckler blew out a breath and ran his hand through his hair. "You know, out of the two of you, I expected you to do better with your life. Jason was lazy and didn't care about anything but getting revenge. I can't believe you allowed yourself to be pulled into that. Why Andy? Please, tell me why."

Andy sank down onto his bunk and leaned forward onto his arms as they support him on his knees. There was so much that had happened to him as a child and it had eaten away at him every day of his life. "Dad, you remember after the interview? That's when I decided to move out and go live with Aunt Laura because I couldn't take it anymore. I hated the fact that you favored him and gave him the world while I busted my ass, did well and excelled and got nothing. After that day he...I can't explain it."

"Tell me the truth." Tom said ruefully and grabbed the chair that sat by the small desk in the cell. "Just be straight with me. I can't fix what happened in the past, but I can try and help here."

"Ok. After that day something changed in Jason and it wasn't pretty. You remember me coming home with black eyes and bruises? Well, it wasn't the other kids doin' it, Dad. It was Jason. At least once a week on the way home from school, he'd beat me and threaten to kill me if I said anything. It wasn't pretty and I was so damn scared of him. You just put it down to bullies and did nothing. After he had that interview, all your focus was on him and I knew then, that nothing I said would ever matter."

Tom felt shame and loathing for his deceased son rage through him. How could he not have noticed that Andy, his youngest boy, was being beaten by his oldest son? Why didn't he know?

"Ah, hell, Andy. I'm sorry. I didn't know. Me and your mother, well we thought...You know it broke her heart when you left. She didn't know what to do with herself and when you asked us not to contact you we had no choice but to leave you alone. That's why we let my sister adopt you."

What Tom didn't know, was that his sister was the complete opposite of his own parents. She was warm and loving and gave him everything that they couldn't. After a year of being with her, he sat down and asked to her adopt him and presented her with the adoption papers that Tom and Marjorie had already signed. They didn't want to, he knew that much because when he took the bus to his old house to get them signed, they had argued the fact until Andy told them how much he hated them and didn't want to be their son. That was the deciding factor and reluctantly, they had signed over their son to the care of Tom's older sister.

"Your mother killed herself a week after that day, Andy. She couldn't live with herself any longer because the one thing that hurt her, was the fact that her youngest son had abandoned her and didn't want her in his life anymore. I was left with Jason and a deep hope that one day, you'd come back to me."

Andy looked up from where his sat and nodded his head, his heart on his sleeve for the first time since he had been a lost and lonely teenager. "I know, Dad. I know.. I."

They sat there in silence for a moment as the cold, hard truths settled into their souls and infused them with the wave of sorrow and acute pain that their memories of the past, bought with them.

***NCIS***

Tim was fed up. Not only had he been told that his kidneys were taking longer to heal than they'd expected, now he had another round of antibiotics to add to the mix. He didn't feel sick, there was just more protein in his urine then there should have been which apparently, was a sure sign of infection setting in. Add that to the fact that he'd been stuck in bed for God knows how long, and his patience was wearing thin. The only good thing about focusing on his physical struggles was that it was helping to shove the guilt he couldn't shrug off, down away from the surface, so his parents wouldn't see it and he, himself wouldn't have to think about it; at least not for now. His mind did skit over it just enough to bookmark the subject for later thought and self-flogging. But, for now, he'd focus on his team and trying to keep things steadily moving forward from this mess.

"McGee. I thought you would like some company." Ziva announced she entered the room with Abby. Tim, blinked, looked at them and smiled ruefully as they settled down on either side of him on the bed. "How are you feeling today?"

"Bored." Tim replied grumpily as he shook his head. "I'm sore, stiff and fed up of laying in this bed. Can you ask Ducky to let me up, please? Just for a while."

Abby shook her head. "Nope. Timmy you have swelling around your spine, and you've had knee surgery to repair the damage there, too. Let your body heal."

"Yeah, yeah. Add that to the dislocated shoulder, the rope burns, the kidney, the bruising and oh oh, don't forget the headaches I get from the concussion and feeling everyone's emotions and you got a pissed off, bored and sore Tim McGee. Seriously, I know what my injuries are and I know, that sitting out there, with everyone rather than laying here doing nothing all day, will not do me any harm." Tim griped

Ziva shook her head and huffed out a quiet laugh. "Is that all?"

"What?"

"McGee, listen to yourself. You have just listed your injuries and even now, you seem to think you can handle being moved..." She held up her hand to stop his protest. "But, I shall ask Ducky. I understand how frustrating it is."

"Thank you." Tim replied and blushed slightly. "Um...Abbs, could you help me out here?"

"What with?" She asked worriedly as her mind struggled to take in this new side of her Timmy. What the hell was going on with him?

"I've got an itch that I can't get and it's driving up the wall. It's round the back of the brace."

Abby stood up silently and moved to help Tim while Ziva smiled and turned to leave so she could go and talk to Ducky. She and Ziva exchanged worried glances, both of them not at all content with this version of Tim that seemed so open about his discomfort and frustration. Their Tim had always been so silent and unwilling to let anyone know he was struggling with anything. _Should they be worried?_

Ziva closed the door softly and made her way downstairs where everyone was just clearing up the dishes from dinner. Tim had told Angela that he hadn't been hungry, but Ziva had seen her carefully wrap his soup and place it in the fridge for when he was hungry later. Surely there was a way for Tim to get out of that room and somewhere where he could be with people rather than them coming in for flying visits. Maybe it would help him regain his footing on whatever he was going through in his head that had him so 'off'. She honed in on Ducky standing next to the dishwasher and made her way over to him.

"Ducky. Please, let me do that." Ziva offered.

"Ziva. Thank you my dear, but this is the last one now." He said and bent down to load the plate in. When he straightened back up, he gave her a warm smile and let her close it and turn it on. "What can I do for you? I thought you and Abigail were sitting with Timothy?"

"We were. Abby is still up there, but I have come down to ask you something."

They attention was drawn away momentarily by Jacob tripping on his crutches and they watched with horror as he started to head south but was saved by Tony and Gibbs' lightening reflexes keeping him upright.

"Ow! Damn it to hell!" Jake cursed and gripped onto Tony's arm tightly. "Tony, you wanna help an old man to the other room. I think I jarred something there."

"I'll come through too." Brad supplied. He'd turned up just before dinner to talk to everyone about Tim's physio plan. He had, however, been coerced into dinner by Angela and had spent an enjoyable hour just relaxing. Something he had desperately needed after his shift at Bethesda. "I want to check on that knee if you've jarred it."

Jacob nodded and let himself be herded out by his three shepherds.

Ducky turned back to Ziva and smiled ruefully. "Sorry, my dear. What is it you needed?"

"No need to apologize. McGee has become frustrated at sitting upstairs and would like to know if there is any way that he could be bought down for a while to sit with us. I understand how he feels and think it is a good idea if it can be done. "

The M.E. stood there thoughtful for a moment and nodded. "Yes, I think it can. I don't see why he couldn't, though we may need to figure out a way of him being comfortable..."

"Ducky, couldn't we bring the bed out into the living room?" Angela suggested warmly. "I mean, it's on wheels and the door is wide enough for it if we're careful, so why not just wheel him out that way?"

"That could work my dear, but I think that young man would like to get about more freely. Maybe we can put him in a wheelchair and settle him in the recliner. We will need to be careful, but I think his injuries will permit that now." Ducky reasoned. "In fact, why don't we have a movie night? I'm sure he would enjoy that."

Ziva and Angela grinned broadly and nodded their approval, though Ziva couldn't help the one reservation that niggled at her. "No offense, Ducky. But you do not really have a television that is big enough and do you have a DVD player?"

He laughed loudly and shook his head. "Alas, no. you are right my dear, but that is easily solved. It will take time to arrange for Timothy to be bought out, so whilst we are doing that, then perhaps you and Anthony could arrange for the relevant equipment to be brought here..." He leaned in to whisper to Ziva. "I have it on good authority that Anthony has rather a good television that we could possibly borrow."

Tony chose that moment to walk in and narrowed his eyes. "What are you three planning there? And don't say nothing, because I know that look...even yours Angela. Tim gets that same look when he's planning something. Come on, Spill?"

Ziva couldn't help but laugh as she made her way over to Tony. "Come, I shall tell you on the way out."

***NCIS***

Tom walked out of the prison with a heavy heart. Not only had he lost one son to death, but his other son was on the verge of being incarcerated for a long time. His future was now in tatters because of what Jason had done, but there was nothing that could be done for that now. He had to admit, that the conversation he'd had, had been an heart-wrenching one and now believed that Andy had been the victim in this situation, just as much as Timothy McGee had. He started to remember some of his training and from talking with his lost son, he could see the signs of something forming in the relationship that he'd had with his older brother; something equally as frightening as the whole, sordid affair. It was then, that he decided to put his research into play and go and talk to the people that would hopefully, understand.

***NCIS**

"Ok, easy now...that's it, lower him down." Brad had taken over giving the instructions as he worked with Gibbs and Ducky to get Tim into the living room. So far, Tim had done nothing but groan slightly as his injuries were jarred so they knew that they were doing well. It was difficult with the back brace though, and even though Tim still wore it to support his healing body, sitting wasn't an easy feat.

"Oh, thank God!" Tim exclaimed when he was finally lowered down into the recliner and Ducky had used the controls to recline the back and bring the foot rest up. "That was harder than I thought it would be."

"Should've tried it from our angle." Gibbs huffed out and hooked his finger under Tim's chin. "How're you doin'?"

Tim sighed and nodded. "I'm good. Just a bit sore, but that's gonna take a while. Seriously, I'm alright. Thanks."

"Anytime. You wanna go back, then you let us know. Don't sit there suffering, you got me?"

Tim nodded and relaxed back as much as his brace would let him. He sighed heavily and blushed at what he was about to ask. "Um..I don't wanna be a pain but can someone grab my pillow and a blanket please? I hate asking but..hey!"

Gibbs stood there smirking as he delivered a soft head slap. "You're not a pain and I'll keep giving them till you get it through that thick skull of yours. Okay?"

Tim's head dipped slightly and Gibbs could feel the confused frustration rolling off him. It was all the team leader could do to stop himself from pulling the kid into a hug, but he knew better and opted for kneeling down in front of him. "Talk to me."

"You were all unsure."

"Of what?" Gibbs asked gently.

"When you carried me in. I could feel all of you wondering whether it was the right thing to do. Boss, you were frustrated and didn't wanna tell me. I could feel it."

_Damn! Gibbs had forgotten about Tim's gift and once again, it had come into play at the worst time_. "Damn straight I was. Look at it from our point of view. We had to figure out a way of getting you out here without hurting ya and every time you groaned or hissed, we knew that's what we were doing. It's frustrating as hell, but we did it because we know how you feel."

Tim's eyes widened because he never thought that the reason would be that. In fact, his mind had taken him straight to the point where he thought they were frustrated with taking care of him and that was something he hadn't wanted; especially since this was all his fault to begin with.

"You thought it was because of you, didn'tcha?" Gibbs said knowingly and frowned at the small nod. "Well, McGee, you need to get over that because I want you back on your feet and at work."

Tim looked up and gaped slightly before answering quietly. "Yes Boss."

Gibbs looked at his wounded agent again; this time harder and with more scrutiny. Paying closer attention to the expression his eyes were trying to hide, rather than what they were showing the world. _Yeah, just as he suspected. Tim's new-found voice of frustration and unusual openness about his physical discomfort was his shield to keep the others from digging too deep. Look deep enough, and the real emotion that was giving the young man hell, was sitting just beneath that._

The boss knew that Tim didn't want his parents to be going through any more trauma or even discussions about what they'd been through and so was keeping his mouth shut about the entire ordeal. In fact, the kid hadn't talked about it at all since that first day in the hospital. Gibbs knew there'd be a time soon enough, that he and Tim would have to talk about this. The kid's reaction just now to being told he was still expected to do his job, proved that. But, for tonight, things could remain unspoken while they all took a breather and just relaxed in each other's company. Hopefully, it would ease Tim's tension and worry about opening up to Gibbs about what was going on in his head when they did finally get to that discussion.

"Uhm, Boss? Are we gonna get this party started?" Tim quipped as he shifted uncomfortably under the man's steady but silent inspection, his eyes deliberately not rising to meet those of his boss who wouldn't miss anything.

That earned him another small smack that turned into a ruffle of his hair. "Atta boy." With that, the team leader stood up and walked to the bedroom to get what Tim needed while Ducky and Brad checked him over.

***NCIS***

Two hours later, and Tim was happily ensconced in his blanket and watching a film on Tony's huge plasma screen. His friend had decided to bring a few over so that Tim could choose and he'd gone with a comedy to lift everybody's spirits. Angela nudged her son's good arm and held up the bowl of popcorn for him to take some.

"Thanks Mom. Can you pass me my drink please?" Tim asked quietly.

Angela reached over to the table and grabbed the coke that Tim had chosen. "Thank you."

"Anytime sweetheart. How are you doing? You ready for your meds yet?"

Tim thought about it and shook his head. "Surprisingly, no. I'm good."

"Timothy..." Ducky started but stopped when Tim shook his head.

"Ducky, honestly, I'm fine. If anything, this is more comfortable that the bed."

"Hey, tough guy!" Anna added from where she was curled up with her husband and daughter. "No heroics."

"Yeah yeah, you're all worrying about nothing." Tim smiled softly at their stunned faces and shook his head. "You're forgetting,I know how you feel...literally!"

Jim snorted his beer and leaned forward laughing. "Now that's still gonna take time to get used to."

"Timothy, just let us know when you want them." Ducky said through a laugh and shook his head at the younger man when he finally grinned back.

"I wi...who's that at this time?" Tim's answer was cut short by a knock at the door. He watched as Gibbs stood up and made his way out to answer it. They all relaxed once more and carried on watching the film, but it was short lived as Gibbs made his way back in with a sour look on his face.

"Boss, everything alright?" Tony asked and stood up, knowing that the look couldn't be good. "What's wro...What the hell!"

A man trailed in behind Gibbs and glanced around the room. These were faces he didn't recognize, but judging from what Andy had told him, he could pretty much make out some of the people that sat there. "I'm sorry to bother you folks, but I would like to talk to Agent Gibbs and Agent McGee, if possible."

They all stood there stunned before Tim broke the silence with a quiet, respectful observation. "I'm guessing you're Senior?"

"And I'm guessing you're Agent Timothy McGee." The stranger in their midst retorted back. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Tom Geckler, and I would like to talk to you about my son."


	35. Chapter 34

What do you wanna talk about?" Tim asked quietly as he tried to shift in the chair. The brace, the sling and the cast made it difficult though and he ended up hissing with pain as the movement jarred him.

"Timothy, please. Keep still because you are doing nothing but aggravating your injuries." Ducky moved to his patient and friend, and rested his hand on Tim's good shoulder. "Do you want us to take you back to bed so you can take your medication and rest?"

Tim shook his head and smiled wanly at Ducky. "No. I want to hear what he has to say. You're nervous?" Tim asked and cocked his head slightly. "Why?"

Tom laughed and shook his head. "Do I need to know how you can tell. I was trained to hide my emotions."

"Trained or not, you're nervous. What do you want?" The sudden cold tone in Tim's voice shocked everyone in the room because it was the first time they'd ever heard the young man talk that way. Angela stood up from where she was sat, and moved closer to Tim to provide him with the loving, motherly support that he needed. "You...why? Why are you worried?"

Tom's guarded smile faltered and dissolved into a frown. "Damn straight I'm worried. One son turned his back on the world and killed himself in prison, and the other is facing life in a cell when he had a promising career. What do you want me to say? Yes, I'm worried and yes, I wish Jason hadn't roped Andy in. He was a good kid..."

"GOOD KID? HE WAS MY DAMN PARTNER AND LOOK WHAT HE HELPED TO DO!" Jim shouted from where he had stood up. Tim jumped and groaned at the loud, booming voice. "Sorry, Tim. Jesus, this is not happening!"

"My apologies, I shouldn't have come." Tom turned to leave but stopped at the firm grip that had grabbed onto his shoulder.

"Sit!" Gibbs commanded and pointed to the empty chair. "Now you've started this, you can damn well tell us why you're here!"

The commanding tone in the man's voice had Tom looking sheepish as he was guided to the chair. He sat down heavily and leaned forward so that his elbows rested on his knees with his head hung down low. To everyone sat in the room, he looked like the epitome of dejection and they knew, that his son had finally beat him down.

"Where do I start?" He asked softly and shook his head. "Why did I come here? I don't know. I guess..." Tom raised his head to look around the room and finally settled his gaze on Tim. "Guess I wanted to come and see how you were doing. I don't know why, but when I spoke to...well, I suppose you could call him a monster. I call him my son, but it doesn't mean I'm proud of him."

Tim frowned and sighed heavily. This wasn't the man that had done this to his family, all he had done was simply father Jason. "Okay. I'll...sorry, we'll hear you out, but please, be kind enough to get to the point because I'm overdue for my meds and I want to lay down to ease the pressure I'm putting on my injuries right now."

Gibbs turned his attention to Tim and frowned at his young Agents comment. A closer look At his the young man's face told Gibbs that the stoic aura he had built around him was crumbling and judging by the fine sheen of sweat and the tightened features, Tim was in a world of pain right about now. "McGee, we can do this another day if you want. You need to get some rest."

"Boss, please. We may as well get it over and done with and besides, he's here now. So, Mr. Geckler. Again, why are you here?"

Tom nodded sucked in a huge breath. "You know about Andy?"

"Oh we know." Tony snorted from where he had been sitting silently with Abby and Ziva. "I'm still trying to figure out how you managed to raise two boys to be like that and be so damn clueless."

Abby nodded and Gibbs saw the glaring look that Ziva sent Tom's way. "DiNozzo. Can it." He said softly with a slight jerk of his head towards Tim. Tony looked over towards his Probie and saw what his Boss had noticed and nodded.

"On it Boss."

"I didn't raise them like that and have no idea why they...Jason was the way he was. I always said he was unstable and Andy was the sensible one. When Andy washed his hands of us and came to us with adoption papers so that my sister could adopt him, it tore us apart. My wife, God bless her soul, couldn't take it anymore and killed herself. You know what I found strange? Jason didn't grieve. Didn't shed a damn tear over his mother and looked almost glad that she was gone."

"He was evil." Tim whispered into the silence that hung in the air once Tom had finished speaking. "Pure evil. I could see it in him when I interviewed him that time."

"Can't argue with you there. He was still my flesh and blood though and I loved him. What else could I do?"

"You could have got him help!" Jim said vehemently. "You could have taken him to the local asylum and got him sectioned in there."

Angela shot Jim a mild glare and shook her head at him. With a mumbled curse, he stood up, took Isabelle off of his wife and carried her out of the room. Anna sighed before standing up and following Jim out to make sure he was okay.

"I deserved that." Tom said sadly and hung his head momentarily. With a sad sigh, he looked up at Tim and fixed is gaze on the young man. "I'm sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am. I...when the boys were younger Andy would come home from school with bruises. When we asked about them, he'd say he fell or got into a fight. He didn't do that, but boys will be boys and I thought he was just getting into the wrong crowd. I sat him down and talked to him one night, but he stuck by his story and that was that. I talked to him, and he promised to try and stay on the straight and narrow for me and his mom."

Ducky stood up so he could go and crouch in front of Tim. "Timothy, how are you feeling lad?"

"M'oka...okay. Please. You're all worrying. Stop." Ducky smiled at the young man and shook his head sadly.

"We can't help the way we feel and right now, you look as though you need your pain medication. I shall go and get it and then we're going to move you back to your room so you can rest."

"No!"

"No?" Ducky questioned with a frown. "Dear boy, really your health is impor..."

"NO!" Tim said with a little bit more force. "Please, just a little longer. I need to know."

"Need to know what." Angela asked and when Tim turned to look at her, he could see the sheen of tears moistening her eyes.

"I just need to hear what Mr. Geckler has to say. Just a little longer...please, continue."

Tom nodded and saw the fierce strength of character in Tim's eyes. "Agent McGee. I shouldn't have come. Please, do as your friends and family tell you and get some rest." Tom made to stand up but was stopped by a crutch being thumped down on the arm of the chair he was in.

"Sit." Jacob commanded and sat back. "If I know my son, and I can safely say I do, then I now he won't rest until he's heard what you came to say."

"Ok." Tom agreed and sat back once again. "Where was I?"

"Straight and narrow; get to the point." Gibbs growled out.

"Oh. Yes. Well, things were pretty good until I drove past their school and saw Jason beating on his brother just around the corner. He was really laying into Andy, so I stopped and got them both in the car. That was just after Jason got arrested. I knew then, that all the years of the bruises and the split lips had nothing to do with what Andy said they had, and were in fact the result of my eldest son being a bully. That was the day that Andy decided he couldn't take any more and went to live with my sister."

"What then?" Tim asked. "He said...he said I ruined him. How? He cou...damn!" Tim hissed as he tried to lean forward into the pain, but sucked in a sharp breath when the brace put pressure on his injured ribs.

"He could have taken a different path? Yeah, I know. Between Jason being interviewed, Andy moving out and my wife committing suicide, Jason went off the rails. I took him to the doctor and he was on medication for both his temper and his mood swings. I have battled with him for years, Agent McGee. I have tried as a father, to help him along the way but he was always blocked by a black mark on his record. It wasn't easy for him."

"It wasn't anything to do with what happened at NCIS. He was already on the wrong side of the law and needed help." Gibbs said firmly. "If you've come here to blame my Agent for what's happened, then the door's that way."

"No. I'm not blaming anyone but my son. I just want my life back and I'll be lying if I say that Jason's death isn't a relief. What I wanted to come here for, was to give you this." Tom pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it over to Tim. Tim reached out with his good arm and took it before being startled by Tom's firm hand on his good shoulder. "I am truly sorry about what has happened and I hope that one day, you and your family can get over your ordeal."

"Not likely, but thanks." Tim whispered so softly, only Mr. Geckler and Gibbs heard him. Tim silently watched as Tom walked out of the living room, leaving the house to go about whatever business he needed to take care of. "Wha...?"

Ducky reached over and plucked the paper out of Tim's hand before shining a light into his young charges eyes. "Timothy, are you with me?"

"Ye...yeah. Ducky..."

Ducky frowned at the pained quivering in Tim's voice. "Okay, young man. Time for you to go to bed and take your pain medication. No arguments. Jethro, Anthony. Please, would you do the honors and help Timothy to his room, please? Careful now, he's in a lot of pain."

"Shouldn't we give him his meds before we move him and wait til they kick in?" Tony asked as he took position beside his friends chair to help him back.

"No. I'm going to give Timothy the stronger medication tonight because I think this is just more than physical pain. He's feeling everyone's shock, anger and worry right now and if I'm not mistaken, it's causing quite the headache there."

Tim nodded once and groaned when Tony and Gibbs lifted him to carry him carefully back to the bedroom. Once they were gone, Angela finally let go of the sob that she'd been holding back. "Honey, if I could, I'd come to you, but right now I might struggle a lil bit with getting down there."

Angela chuckled through her tears and got up to go and let her husband's, strong warm embrace soothe her troubled soul. "Jake, he's not okay is he? He says he is, but he's not. I can see it in his eyes. He's not okay and this is never going to end. He's not strong but he won't admit it..."

"I know sweetheart. I know." Jacob rubbed Angela's arm gently and glanced up at Gibbs when the team leader walked back into the room with Tony. They shared an understanding look, before Gibbs nodded once and turned and walked back to the bedroom to sit with Tim.

***NCIS***

Gibbs sat in the chair by Tim's bedside waiting for his Agent to wake up. He'd been there for the better part of three hours now, and even though people came and went, he refused to move and instead, consoled himself in reading through the letter than now sat in his hand.

_Andy._

_I don't even wanna know why you left, and I don't care. All I do know is that you have two choices in life right about now, and one of them is to help me._

_I know what you do, and I know who you work with even though you don't, and no doubt, once you realize you'll come round to my way of thinking one way or another. Oh, by another I mean...you know what I mean._

_You're partner is that NCIS Agent's cousin by marriage. Yeah, co-incidence or what, but hell, who cares? I'll take what I can get. Well brother dearest, let me tell you who you are partnered with. He is none other, than Timothy McGee's cousin. You remember him right? The asshole who interviewed me all those years ago and ruined my life! I can't do a damn thing right and then you go and leave me with them! Mom and Dad._

_Mom, well hell, she did the right thing and killed herself, that's one down at least, but I'm not writing this to talk about them. I'm writing this to tell you now, that if you don't help me in what I want to do, then you can rest assured that I will make sure our good Aunt Laura and Daddy dearest meet their maker in a horribly, painful way._

_So, what's it going to be? You watch them die, or you help me with what I need to do?_

_You know where to contact me, so drop me a line, bro._

_Jason._

Gibbs shook his head and sighed heavily. When he looked up, he was shocked to see two glassy green eyes blearily watching him from the bed. "Why?"

"Why what, Tim?" The team leader asked as he stood up and poured out a glass of water for his Agent.

"Why are you angry and sad?"

Gibbs paused for a moment before putting down the glass and helping Tim to sit. "I need a reason?"

"Especially you, Yeah..." Tim answered honestly. "What's in the letter?"

Gibbs sighed and shook his head before putting it down on the dresser. "Not the time. Talk to me. How're you feeling?"

Tim blinked tiredly at his Boss and groaned internally at the question. "Fine."

"Bull."

"Huh?" Tim didn't know what to say to that so he left it open.

"Don't lie to me, McGee. You think you're the only one who can read people? Well you're not. I can read all of my kids and if anything, you're the one who's the easiest. Talk to me." Gibbs finally admitted what had been on his mind for days and felt better for getting it out in the open.

"Boss..."

"You tell me that you're fine one more time, and I'll head slap ya." Gibbs commanded firmly. He watched as Tim sighed heavily and mulled over the question. "That! Right there, that look in your eyes. You're so damn expressive that I can almost hear what you are thinking."

That was it. There was no way he could get away with telling Gibbs that he was fine so he may as well just get it out and let the older man make the decision to act on it or not. "I'm scared. I hurt everywhere and everyone's emotions are driving me crazy. If I don't pretend to be fine, I can feel the worry and hurt rolling off of you all and it's strong, Boss. Too strong for me right now. You know Sarah's on the edge? She's hiding it because she thinks everyone needs to be strong for me...FOR ME!"

The shout at the end and the admission shocked Gibbs, but he didn't let on. Sure, he knew Tim felt it, but right now there was nothing he could do about that.

"And you know what's worse? You're all walking around here trying to get some sort of normal routine going and my family all need help. Mom's hiding behind us and using the need to help us to get through it, Dad's...well okay, Dad's trying, but someone has to tell him it's not his fault. He knows how everyone is dealing with stuff and is trying to keep it together for their sakes but the guilt...Boss I can't. Between guilt, pain and suffering, I'm at the end of my rope. I can't..."

"Then why hide it? Why do what they're doin'?"

"Because it's all for me. They think I'm gonna break but what they don't realize is that whatever they are doing is killing me. I can't take it. I can't stand the internal, hidden pain and just want them to open up. You're all no better you know. You all think you can hide behind whatever walls you have up, but you can't. I know how you all feel and can feel every single memory of what happened when you do. Please...Boss, I can't anymore. I just can't..."

Tim's eyes closed and Gibbs could see a glimmer of relief at having his façade shattered. In a way, the room felt cleansed and the eggshells they had been walking on seemed to disappear from underneath their feet.

"I'm sorry, Tim. I don't know what to say. I'm sorry."

"Sign of weakness." Tim smirked and closed his eyes. Gibbs though he had drifted back off to sleep when Tim spoke again. "Sorry Boss."

"McGee. I apologize, there's a reason. You guys apologize, it's a sign of weakness. You remember that next time you wanna do it. Do something for me."

Tim opened his eyes and gave a slight nod. Gibbs took that as his cue and moved to sit on the edge of the bed so he could grasp Tim's hand.

"Don't hide it, Tim. You got that? We're doing it because we don't know what to do. You need to talk to people and you need to let your frustration out because it's just gonna eat at you."

"Boss, I can't talk to my family. They've got enough to deal with as it is without my gui..."

"What?" Gibbs pushed firmly and sat there glaring at his agent. Tim's face flushed with embarrassment and anger at himself for letting that particular cat out of the bag. "What the hell have you got to feel guilty for?"

"Boss, you know they wouldn't be in that position in the first place if it wasn't for me. If I had said something about what I was seeing in my nightmares the first time it happened, nobody would have gotten hurt!" Tim demanded with a burst of strength that he didn't think was possible in lieu of the way he felt.

It was obvious to Gibbs that this was the root of the problem, or at least a huge part of it and frankly, he should have seen this one coming. But, there was no way he was gonna let Tim spend another minute believing that about what could have been so he decided to take the bull by the horns and reprimand the young man so that he knew, that under no uncertain terms he was not guilty for what happened.

"Damn it, McGee! Why? You sit there and shoulder the damn blame every time without thinking about the fact that it wasn't you that did anything wrong! I've tried to beat it outta ya, but hell, you seem hell bent on wallowing in the crap and blaming yourself! It wouldn't have stopped what happened. You know that. C'mon, you've been on this job long enough to know, if a person wants to get revenge bad enough, they're gonna do it, no matter what."

Tim flinched at the harsh tone and shook his head. "Boss, I..."

"No! You listen to me, and you listen good! One more word of this bein' your fault and that promised head slap will be so hard, that you'll see stars."

"IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANNA DO, THEN DO IT!" Tim yelled and groaned when his chest, shoulder and back pulled at the effort his anger had caused. "You just don't understand..." He added quietly and settled back so he could breathe through his aches.

Gibbs huffed and shook his head. "You don't get it do ya? By protecting them, you're hurting them. They're dealing with it this way because they don't wanna upset you. This guilt you carry isn't good for any of ya so bite the bullet and talk to them, Tim."

"You want me...to talk to them about how responsible I am for everything they've just suffered through?" Tim asked incredulously.

"Yup."

Tim laid there and took in what his boss had said. Right now, some of what Gibbs had said made sense, but it wasn't something he wanted to deal with and trying to get rid of guilt like that didn't just happen, no matter how angry the boss got at him about him carrying it. "Thanks, Boss." Tim offered quietly as he closed his eyes in exhaustion. It was all he could say. He wasn't ready to promise anything. Frankly, he felt the boss was asking too much of him.

Gibbs looked at his agent and frowned. He knew he'd taken the harsh road with him on this and had hoped it would help plant the seed of doubt with that guilt that he stored. Obviously, there was still work to be done there, but for now, he'd let it go. "Good. It's getting late and you need to sleep some more before Ducky comes in and knocks you out with a sedative."

"Boss?" Tim's voice was laden with unasked questions. Gibbs just looked at him and cocked his head with his eyes narrowed.

"What's on your mind?"

"The letter." Tim opened his eyes once more and pointed weakly to the letter on the nightstand. "What was it?"

With a sigh, Gibbs reached over and grabbed it so he could read it out to Tim. Once done, he put it on the bed and shook his head. "Jason was disturbed. There's nothing you or any one of us could have done to help him."

Tim swallowed and nodded. Truth be told, it all made sense now. His Telempathy still wasn't under control and when Tom had walked in, there was more than just the grief of losing a son and the fear for another child. There was pure fear that shook the man to the core. Tim thought it was because he had walked into a room full of people that suffered the attack, but now...now there was something else. There was...

"Oh no. God, Boss, you need to go find Laura!"

"Huh? Laura, Geckler's aunt?"

Tim nodded furiously. "Yes. You need to find her. Tom was scared and it was deep. That letter...Jesus, Boss, I think Jason did something to his Aunt. You gotta find her.

Gibbs sat there stunned, but knew that Tim was right. The visit had been weird and even though it was played out for Tom to apologize, Gibbs' gut had churned. Damn it! Tim was right and it was something that Gibbs and the rest of the team had to do. The team leader stood up and leaned down to Give Tim's hand one last squeeze.

"We'll find her, McGee. You rest up and we'll be back soon."

Tim watched as Gibbs left and hoped that they would find Laura alive and well.


End file.
